Bellingham was fined for his comments about Zwayer after Borussia Dortmund's 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in December 2021; the 43-year-old served a six-month ban for his role in a match-fixing scandal in 2005, four years prior to his promotion to the Bundesliga
Tuesday 9 July 2024 22:23, UK
German referee Felix Zwayer will take charge of England's Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday - and he has history with Jude Bellingham.
The 43-year-old from Berlin will lead an all-German officiating team in Dortmund, which also includes his assistants Stefan Lupp and Marco Achmuller, plus VAR Bastian Dankert. It will be the second time Zwayer has overseen a match involving the Dutch, having also refereed their last-16 victory over Romania.
Before that, Zwayer took charge of Italy's opening match against Albania and Portugal's win over Turkey in the second round of group matches.
Wednesday night's clash will see the German share the pitch with Three Lions midfielder Bellingham - and the pair have history.
In December 2021, Bellingham received a fine of €40,000 (£33,970) from the German FA for his post-match comments on Zwayer after Borussia Dortmund's 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich.
Bellingham hit out at the performance of Zwayer after he turned down appeals for a penalty - only to award Bayern one for a Mats Hummels handball.
The sports court of the German Football Association evaluated Bellingham's statement as "unsportsmanlike conduct".
After the game Bellingham told ViaPlay: "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."
England international Bellingham was referring to Zwayer's six-month ban by the German FA in 2005 following his involvement in a match-fixing scandal.
Zwayer admitted taking money from Robert Hoyzer, a fellow referee who had previously been banned for allegedly being involved in match fixing, four years prior to his promotion to the Bundesliga.
Defending his decisions following Bellingham's comments, Zwayer - who subsequently took a two-month break from refereeing - told Sky Germany: "The situation was a standard corner kick.
"I see in the game that it's about a touch by Hummels. The question for me was: Is the arm stretched away from the body or not? In real-time, it was not clear whether his arm was moved towards the ball.
"I checked it with [VAR officials] in Cologne and then the arm position was checked.
"The video assistant made an assessment for himself and said that Hummels had his arm away from the body in an unnatural position.
"In the end, he clearly deflected the ball with his elbow and I came to the decision that it was a penalty."
Meanwhile, England boss Gareth Southgate insists the appointment of previously suspended referee is "not even a consideration", as the England manager backed UEFA's call.
Asked if he had concerns over the referee or had spoken to Bellingham about it, he replied: " No. I think everybody knows how I deal with referees - with complete respect for every referee.
"I know the two guys at UEFA, (managing director of refereeing) Roberto (Rosetti) and (refereeing officer) Bjorn Kuipers, who've been running the referees programme and I think they appreciate the respect we've shown to the officials as a team over the past eight years.
"I think there is a right way to conduct yourself towards officials. I think that's very important for the image of the game.
"So, no, I'm not concerned about who the referee is. He will be at the very highest standard because that's the way UEFA make those decisions and the way they monitor the games during the tournament. For me, it is not even a consideration."
Speaking on Monday, England defender Luke Shaw was asked whether the team were uncomfortable about Zwayer's appointment.
"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," the Manchester United full-back 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."
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."
Sky Sports News understands that UEFA has total confidence in its refereeing appointments. The FA declined to comment when approached by Sky Sports News.
