FELIX ZWAYER has been appointed the England vs Netherlands referee in Euro 2024 semi-final – and the action will unfold TONIGHT!
Here is everything you need to know about the referee who received a six-month ban for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal.
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Who is Felix Zwayer?
Felix Zwayer is a German football referee based in Berlin.
Born on May 18, 1981, he officiates for SC Charlottenburg of the Berlin Football Association.
He is a Fifa referee and is ranked as a Uefa elite category referee.
Zwayer began his refereeing career in 2003 and worked his way up through the ranks of German football.
He made his Bundesliga debut in 2012 and soon become a regular fixture in their matches.
In 2005, his career took a hit when he found himself involved in a match-fixing scandal.
It was revealed that he accepted a €300 bribe from referee Robert Hoyzer, who was involved in a larger match-fixing scandal at the time in Germany.
Zwayer was banned from refereeing for six months by the German Football Association (DFB) as a result of his involvement.
England sensation Jude Bellingham referred to the scandal in a post-match interview and was fined £33,970 from the German FA for his comments about Zwayer in 2021.
Has Felix Zwayer officiated at major tournaments before?
Zwayer has been involved in various Uefa and Fifa competitions, including qualifiers for the World Cup and the European Championship.
He has also refereed matches in top club competitions such as the Champions League and the Europa League.
While he has never refereed at a World Cup, he was present at the 2015 Under-20 tournament in New Zealand.
Despite the scandal, Zwayer continued to work his way up the ranks and was selected by FIFA to be one of the video assistant referees for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
But in December 2021, he was heavily criticised for not awarding Borussia Dortmund a penalty and for sending off coach Marco Rose during a game.
You give a referee, that has match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?
Jude Bellingham
After the match, the former Dortmund player Jude Bellingham, who now plays for Real Madrid CF, made reference to Zwayer’s past.
Bellingham told ViaPlay after Dortmund’s 3-2 loss: “You give a referee, that has match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?”
Zwayer took a break from refereeing after the incident, but returned in February 2022.
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The official has since appeared to referee for the Euro 2024 games.
Zwayer suspended Nicusor Bancu, after picking up two yellow cards in Romania’s group stage 3 – Nil defeat against Netherlands, July 2.
Uefa have since recieve much criticism for appointing Felix Zwayer to officiate England’s Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands Wednesday July 10.
What else has Felix Zwayer done before?
Away from the pitch, Felix is a real estate manager.
He owns a company with three other partners.
Has Felix Zwayer used VAR before?
VAR stands for Video Assistant Referee.
It is technology used by match official to help on-field referees make accurate decisions during football matches.
Qualified referees work remotely from a video operation room, monitoring the game on multiple screens and accessing real-time video footage from multiple camera angles to provide more accurate results.
Var was first used across the German top tier during the 2017-18 season.
Zwayer has used it in a number of matches, including the match where Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund in December 2021.
VAR will be used at the 2024 Euros in Germany but there could be a last-minute halt.
Germany will be represented by three referees in the VAR Centre including Bastian Dankert, Christian Dingert and Marco Fritz.
The high-tech device will use 12 tracking cameras to help find out if any part of the player’s body is in an offside position.
A 3D animation will be displayed on the big screens in the stadium.
The match ball will also include a chip which will help improve the technology’s accuracy.