England will take on the Netherlands on Wednesday in the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final and German referee Felix Zwayer will take charge of the crunch clash.
The 43-year-old German referee has a history with England international midfielder Jude Bellingham, who slammed the official for being a match-fixer back in 2021.
Following a defeat to Bayern Munich in December 2021, Bellingham slammed the referee for turning down multiple appeals of a penalty from Borussia Dortmund throughout the game. Zwayer was also criticised for awarding Bayern Munich a penalty for an unintentional handball by Mats Hummels.
Bellingham said back then (h/t Sky Sports): “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.”
I am not sure what UEFA are thinking by putting Zwayer at the England-game.
Back in 2021 Bellingham told me this after the game.
And was fined €40,000 by German football officials@ViaplayFotball https://t.co/g9g60Yu4iq— Jan Aage Fjørtoft 🇳🇴 (@JanAageFjortoft) July 8, 2024
Bellingham was reprimanded by the German FA for his post match comments on the referee and he was handed a fine of around €40,000 as well.
It will be interesting to see how the situation develops when Zwayer takes charge of England’s semifinals against Netherlands later this week. The 43-year-old referee was previously handed a six-month ban by the German FA in 2005 for his involvement in a match fixing scandal.
England fans will certainly hope that his history with Bellingham will not affect the game in a negative way, and the 43-year-old will be honest and transparent with his decision making.
England will be hoping to reach the finals of the UEFA Euro 2024 and win the competition this time around.