Jude Bellingham’s History With Semi-Final Referee

Jude Bellingham’s History With Semi-Final Referee

England, after a breathtaking penalty shootout against Switzerland, will now be gearing up for their Euro’s semi-final clash against The Netherlands.

However, the England camp will also be hoping that Jude Bellingham won’t be distracted by his relationship with Felix Zwayer. For context, Bellingham was fined €40,000 by DFB after his ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour’ toward tonight’s referee.

The fine was the result of post match comments made by Bellingham, while at Borussia Dortmund, after a 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich. In his interview, Bellingham questioned Zwayer’s authority, calling back to Zwayer’s involvement in 2005’s match fixing scandal.

Zwayer was banned for six months for accepting bribes while officiating 2. Bundesliga matches.

UEFA have appointed Felix Zwayer, who was previously convicted of match-fixing and banned for six months in 2005 after taking a €300 bribe from another official, as the referee for England vs. the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Jude Bellingham was fined €40,000 for publicly… pic.twitter.com/6We1RVTkVo

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In the aforementioned loss for Bellingham’s side, Zwayer waved away appeals from Dortmund players for a penalty, then just a few moments later awarded Bayern Munich a controversial spot-kick which won them the game.

England fans will be hoping Bellingham’s relationship with Zwayer won’t impact the game tonight, with Bellingham proving to be a key player for Gareth Southagate’s side so far. The Real Madrid midfielder has scored two goals so far, including a last minute overhead kick against Slovakia in the round of 16.