UEFA has appointed a referee who previously admitted to match-fixing – and whose integrity was publicly questioned by Jude Bellingham – for England's Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands.
Felix Zwayer will referee Wednesday's match in Dortmund despite being banned for six months in 2005 after accepting a 300 euro ($325) bribe from another referee, Robert Hoyzer.
A 2005 investigation found that Zwayer accepted a bribe to favour German club Wuppertaler SV in their match against Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004.
Bellingham addressed that incident in a 2021 post-match interview, after Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich in a massive Bundesliga game.
The English midfielder, who was playing for Dortmund at the time, said: “You can see a lot of decisions in the game.
“You give Germany's most important match to a referee who has already fixed matches. What did you expect?”
Bellingham was later fined €40,000 for his comments, which came after Dortmund were denied a penalty at one end and awarded one at the other.
Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke added: “To be clear, Jude did not spread lies, but what happened in the past. This statement should not have happened, but I see nothing false in it. I do not expect this to have any consequences for Jude.”
Zwayer was in charge of the Netherlands' 3-0 victory over Romania in the Euro 2024 round of 16 on Tuesday.
The FA declined to comment on Zwayer's appointment when contacted by ESPN.
England defender Luke Shaw was quick to dispel any thoughts of conspiracy when asked at a news conference on Monday whether the refereeing situation was awkward.
“No, not at all,” said the Manchester United player. “We have to respect UEFA in terms of who they decide to appoint as referee. That won't change anything for us.”
“We are still focused on the game ahead, not so much on the referees assigned to us or on this or that. For us, it won't make any difference.”
Shaw went on to say that he had never played a game where he thought the referees were acting against his team.
“Sometimes in the heat of the moment you get angry in games and you might think that, but no,” he said.
“The referee who has been chosen has already been chosen. We just have to be prepared and not focus on that.”
