If England loses to Netherlands in the Euro semifinals Wednesday, the team and its fans have a new built in excuse they’ll almost certainly run to if the officiating is even a little spotty.
UEFA appointed Felix Zwayer as a referee for the match. And for those who don’t remember, Zwayer is the same official who was banned six months in 2005 for taking a $325 bribe from another official to influence a match in Germany.
CONFIRMED: Felix Zwayer will referee the semi-final between Netherlands and England.
He served a six-month ban for a match-fixing incident in Germany. pic.twitter.com/kMhKM3b5hd
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) July 8, 2024
Zwayer also has history with England star Jude Bellingham, who slammed the ref in 2021 after Zwayer officiated a big Bundesliga game Bellingham lost with Borussia Dortmund. “You give a referee that’s match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?” the midfielder said.
Now, Bellingham will have to deal with Zwayer on the national level.
Felix Zwayer is returning to Dortmund for the semifinal England vs. Netherlands. The last time Zwayer was in Dortmund Bellingham said this after the game: pic.twitter.com/aVwBAhLEvd
— Mastermind (@Mastermind_09) July 8, 2024
England has +160 odds to advance to the Euro final, with +250 odds to win the title, which rank second to Spain at +190. Netherlands is +210 to beat England.
Regardless of the result, fans on social media were understandably miffed at how a referee with match-fixing in his past was allowed to officiate on this level.
How on earth has a referee who has been banned for match-fixing after accepting a bribe been allowed back into the professional game at all, let alone be given a European Championship semi-final? https://t.co/Esbi8Fpjg0
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) July 8, 2024
How can someone who was banned for match fixing qualify for such a massive international tournament? That's crazy https://t.co/BMUboeSKYq
— Daniel Andrade (@d_andradesport) July 8, 2024
How’s that been allowed then
— Profit Tips (@Prof1tTips) July 8, 2024
lol so there's no other referee to use for this important match than him
— Ayobami (@on_bami) July 8, 2024
LOOOL how do you get banned for match fixing then end up doing a SEMI FINAL of the euros https://t.co/KqTUNphC7Y
— Charlie (@CharlieWoodward) July 8, 2024
I will never ever understand how any official involved in match fixing can possibly be allowed to continue within football. Makes zero sense to me https://t.co/4n8ADMUPeG
— Sam David (@samdavidstone) July 8, 2024
Of course, the time for outrage was probably when Zwayer was first allowed back into officiating. It’s too late to cry once he’s already made it this far. England-Netherlands won’t even be his first game of the tournament, as he also officiated Netherlands’ Round of 16 match against Romania.
