Take a look back at the FC crew discussing Jude Bellingham’s comments about referee Felix Zwayer in 2021. (2:52)
UEFA have appointed a referee previously convicted of match-fixing and whose integrity was publicly questioned by Jude Bellingham for England’s Euro 2024 semifinal against the Netherlands.
Felix Zwayer will officiate Wednesday’s clash in Dortmund despite being banned for six months in 2005 after taking a 300 ($325) bribe from another official named Robert Hoyzer.
In 2005, an investigation found Zwayer guilty of accepting a bribe to favour German club SV Wuppertal in their match against Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004.
Bellingham referred back to that incident in a postmatch interview in 2021 after Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich in a huge Bundesliga game.
The England midfielder, who played for Dortmund at the time, said: “You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game.
“You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?”
Bellingham was subsequently fined 40,000 for his comments, which came after Dortmund were denied a penalty at one end and conceded one at the other.
Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke added at the time: “To be clear, Jude was not spreading lies, but what happened in the past. This statement shouldn’t have been, but I don’t see anything untrue there. I don’t expect that to have any consequences for Jude.”
Zwayer officiated the Netherlands’ 3-0 win over Romania in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
The FA declined to comment on Zwayer’s appointment when contacted by ESPN.