Ref Once Banned For Match-fixing To Officiate England Vs Netherlands Euro 2024 Semi-finals

Concerns as UEFA appointed a referee who has once admitted to match-fixing and whose honesty was called into doubt by Jude Bellingham, to officiate England’s Euro 2024 semifinal against the Netherlands.

Sportxparte reports that German football referee, Felix Zwayer, will be in charge of the game on Wednesday in Dortmund, despite being suspended for six months in 2005 following a €300 ($325) bribe from another referee, Robert Hoyzer.

It could be recalled that an investigation from 2005 revealed that Zwayer took a bribe to give an advantage to the German team Wuppertaler SV in their game against Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004.

Bellingham brought up this case again in a post-match interview in 2021 after Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich in a major Bundesliga match.

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 fined €40,000 following his remarks, which were made after Dortmund’s penalty appeal was rejected at one end and a penalty was awarded at the other.

Reacting, 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.”

Luke Shaw’s Submission On Zwayer

Sportxparte understands that Zwayer was the official for the Netherlands’ 3-0 victory against Romania in the Euro 2024 round of 16 on Tuesday.

When ESPN reached out to the FA regarding Zwayer’s selection, they chose not to respond.

English defender Luke Shaw quickly dismissed any rumours of foul play when questioned at a press conference on Monday about the refereeing conditions.

“No, not at all,” the Manchester United player said.

“We have to respect UEFA in whoever they decide to pick as the ref. That won’t change anything about us.

“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.”

The player went on to remark that he had never played in a game where he thought the officials 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.

“Whatever ref has been picked has been picked. We just have to be ready and not focus on that.”