Euro 2024: Referee with match fixing past and history with Jude Bellingham given officiating duty in England vs Netherlands semifinal

Felix Zwayer, a German referee who was given a six-month ban in 2005 for match fixing, will be the officiating the Euro semifinal match between Netherlands and England. What’s noteworthy here is that the 43-year-old has a bit of history with English talisman Jude Bellingham.

In December 2021, Bellingham who was a Borussia Dortmund player at that time, had received a fine of €40,000 (£33,970) from the German FA for his comments on Zwayer after his team’s 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich.

“You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany – what do you expect? For me, it wasn’t (a penalty). He (Hummels) is not even looking at the ball and he’s fighting to get it and it hits him. You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game,” he had said to ViaPlay after Zwayer had awarded Bayern a penalty while denying Dortmund one earlier.

Felix Zwayer is returning to Dortmund for the semifinal England vs. Netherlands. The last time Zwayer was in Dortmund Bellingham said this after the game: pic.twitter.com/aVwBAhLEvd

— Mastermind (@Mastermind_09) July 8, 2024

The referee had then reacted to Belligham’s comments and defended his decision. “The situation was a standard corner kick. “I see in the game that it’s about a touch by Hummels. The question for me was: Is the arm stretched away from the body or not? In real-time, it was not clear whether his arm was moved towards the ball. I checked it with [VAR officials] in Cologne and then the arm position was checked. The video assistant made an assessment for himself and said that Hummels had his arm away from the body in an unnatural position. In the end, he clearly deflected the ball with his elbow and I came to the decision that it was a penalty,” Zwayer had told Sky Germany.

This will not be the first time that Zwayer will be refereeing a match in this Euro with the German official taking charge of the Netherlands vs Romania Quarterfinal clash as well as Italy vs Albania and Portugal vs Turkey in the group stages.

Bellingham, meanwhile, has been a key player for England in the Euros, scoring twice with a late bicycle volley equalizer against Slovakia in the Round of 16 being the highlight.

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