Jude Bellingham‘s furious attack on ‘match-fixing’ referee Felix Zwayer has resurfaced as he prepares to adjudicate England’s semi final against the Netherlands tomorrow.
Three Lions fans are scrambling to fly out to Dortmund for the high-stakes encounter, which could see their team have another shot at glory at their second successive Euros final.
But many are fuming at UEFA’s ‘disgraceful’ decision to allow Zwayer to oversee the game, given his 2005 conviction for taking a €300 (£253.82) bribe from a fellow referee who was fixing the match.
After he oversaw Borussia Dortmund’s contentious 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in 2021, Bellingham – then playing for Dortmund – hit out at his appointment and was subsequently fined.
‘You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game,’ Bellingham said in a post-match TV interview. ‘You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?’
Jude Bellingham, then 18, hit out at Felix Zwayer after Dortmund’s loss to Bayern Munich
UEFA have decided to stand by referee Zwayer (pictured) for the Euro 2024 semi-final between England and the Netherlands
Bellingham, 21, is known for his passion on the pitch and some fans will worry Zwayer’s presence could serve to provoke him.
The midfielder is England’s biggest star and has played a crucial part in the campaign so far, including a spectacular last-gasp goal against Slovakia and a penalty in the shoot-out against Switzerland.
Zwayer attracted Bellingham’s ire after officiating a Bundesliga match between the Englishman’s former club Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in 2021.
The ref turned down Dortmund appeals for a penalty during the crunch clash and later awarded Bayern a spot-kick after penalising Mats Hummels for handball.
A 2005 investigation found Zwayer – then a linesman – accepted a bribe from match referee Robert Hoyzer to favour second-tier German club Wuppertaler SV in their match against Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004.
The money was paid by Robert Hoyzer, the main match referee, who was subsequently banned for life.
Zwayer was among a group of officials who brought Hoyzer’s match-fixing plot to light, hence the decision to only ban him for half a year.
He will lead an all-German officiating team at tomorrow’s match in Dortmund which also includes his assistants Stefan Lupp and Marco Achmuller, plus VAR Bastian Dankert.
Mail Sport contacted UEFA for comment and asked how, given his background, Zwayer could be chosen to officiate such a fixture. It is understood that UEFA bosses conducted a review which has now concluded.
Zwayer’s six-month ban was kept quiet until German newspaper Zeit broke the story years later.
The investigation found that while Hoyzer, who was sentenced to two years and five months in prison, Zwayer’s apartment was searched and he was found to have behaved in a ‘grossly anti-sporting’ manner.
After Bellingham’s attack on Zwayer, Dortmund insisted they were ‘100 per cent’ behind their player.
Sporting director Michael Zorc said: ‘It was a very emotional situation, he was very disappointed and only named known facts.’
Chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke added: ‘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.’
England defender Luke Shaw was asked whether the team were uncomfortable about Zwayer’s appointment at a press conference yesterday.
‘No, not at all. We have to respect UEFA in whoever they decide to pick as the ref. That won’t change anything about us,’ he said.
‘We still just focus on the game in hand, not too much about what refs we’ve been given or this and that. For us, it won’t make any difference.’
Bellingham, 21, is known for his passion on the pitch and some fans will worry that Zwayer’s presence could serve to provoke him
Asked if he had ever played in a game where he felt the referee was against his team, Shaw replied: ‘No, not really. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, you get angry in games and you might think that, but no.
‘Whatever ref has been picked, has been picked. We just have to be ready and not focus on that.’
The winners of Wednesday’s game are due to take on Spain or France in the final on Sunday.
Fighting talk has begun ahead of tomorrow’s clash, with Dutch pundits mocking the Three Lions’ football as ‘barely watchable’ and slamming fans’ ‘gross overconfidence’.
Gareth Southgate has been labelled the ‘most criticised manager’ at the 2024 European Championship by one Dutch football magazine, even though he has managed to get England to a third tournament semi-final.
The England manager’s approach has been ‘ultra-conservative’, it says, and has relied on the views of data analysts in an effort to keep a clean sheet, rather than score goals.
Meanwhile England’s supporters may be outnumbered by their rivals in the stands at tomorrow night’s match, as they scramble for last-minute tickets amid soaring prices.
On top of this, the Netherlands could enjoy the territorial advantage in Dortmund, with the Westfalenstadion’s ‘Yellow Wall’ set to turn orange thanks to Uefa’s ticket allocation.
The south stand at the Borussia Dortmund stadium becomes a wall of sound during home matches, and now half the area has been allocated to the Dutch side’s fans, with the rest going on general sale.
While there will be England fans seated in the Gelbe Wand area, thousands of Oranje supporters will be massed together in the favoured stand.
For many of the Netherlands’ matches during the tournament the host city has been packed with Dutch supporters filling up fan zones in their iconic orange livery and showing their support with their famous side-to-side chant.
England fans have also been daring to dream, flocking to Germany to support their team through what has largely been an uninspiring performance.
‘The story of England in most football summers: gross overconfidence, followed by early elimination,’ Dutch football journalist Peter Zwart writes.
‘Southgate has dealt with every form of naivety in England in a harsh manner. The fact that the football is barely watchable does not bother him. In fact, that is the direct result of his tactical plan.’
Fighting talk has begun ahead of tomorrow’s clash, with Dutch pundits mocking the Three Lions’ football as ‘barely watchable’ and slamming fans’ ‘gross overconfidence’
Meanwhile players are wading into the war of words, with Spurs centreback Micky Van de Ven smiling as he told reporters at a press conference that he is faster than England winger Bukayo Saka.
‘That is uncomfortable to say about yourself,’ Van de Ven said. ‘But look at the data and you have the answer.’
The Netherlands’ star player Cody Gakpo backed up his teammate, saying: ‘Micky is the fastest in the Premier League.’
Commenting on England’s tactics, the Liverpool forward said: ‘They play very defensively. They have a lot of quality, but they play defensively.’
Gakpo added of the team, many of whom are fellow Premier League players: ‘They really have a fantastic group, hopefully it will be a nice match.’
Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands beat Turkey 2-1 in Berlin to make their way into the semis against the Three Lions, as both teams bid to reach the final on July 14.