Felix Zwayer, a German referee currently officiating matches in the 2024 UEFA European Championship tournament and Germany’s Bundesliga, is under scrutiny for his former match-fixing conviction ahead of a Semifinal match between England and the Netherlands on Wednesday.
The scandal centered around referee Robert Hoyzer, who took bribes to fix several matches in 2004. Zwayer, 43, accepted a €300 bribe to avoid critical scenes for Wuppertal SV in a match against Werder Bremen Amateure. Zwayer was banned for six months by the German Football Association (DFB) in 2005, while Hoyzer was sentenced to 29 months in prison.
Alongside three other high-ranking referees, Zwayer informed the DFB of Hoyzer's actions, so no intentional errors were found against him. Zwayer eventually became an official in the Bundesliga and elsewhere for UEFA tournaments and matches.
Zwayer and Jude Bellingham dispute
In 2021, during a major Bundesliga matchup, Zwayer officiated a match between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Following the match, then-Dortmund star Jude Bellingham referenced Zwayer’s match-fixing conviction concerning a missed penalty call on Munich. Zwayer subsequently called a handball penalty on Dortmund, leading to a Munich goal that sealed the win.
“You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game,” said Bellingham in a post-match press conference interview. “You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?”
Bellingham received a €40,000 fine and was investigated by German police for his comments, while Zwayer wound up taking a two-month break from officiating matches.
I am not sure what UEFA are thinking by putting Zwayer at the England-game.
— Jan Aage Fjørtoft 🇳🇴 (@JanAageFjortoft) July 8, 2024
Back in 2021 Bellingham told me this after the game.
And was fined €40,000 by German football officials@ViaplayFotball https://t.co/g9g60Yu4iq
Bellingham is one of England’s best players in this tournament and will now have to face his history with Zwayer officiating the match. Zwayer has already officiated several other games in the tournament, including the Netherlands’ 3-0 win over Romania in the Round of 16.
England is currently -138 odds to win the match against the Netherlands (+112) and +260 odds to win the 2024 UEFA European Championship. England is the second betting favorite in the futures market behind Spain at +180 odds.
