Revealed: England’s semi-final referee is a convicted bribe-taker and was called out as a ‘match-fixer’ by Jude Bellingham – but is still eligible to ref at Euro 2024 after taking two months off after the row

The referee at the 2024 European Championship semi-final in England is a convicted match-fixer who was criticised by Jude Bellingham after taking charge of a controversial Bundesliga match.

Felix Zwayer, who will officiate the Three Lions’ match against the Netherlands on Wednesday, was banned for six months after accepting a €300 (£253.82) bribe from fellow referee Robert Hoyzer in a scandal in 2005.

And after officiating Borussia Dortmund’s controversial 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in 2021, Dortmund star Bellingham, who is due to play on Wednesday night, fiercely criticised his appointment and was subsequently fined.

“You can look at a lot of decisions in the game,” Bellingham said in a post-game TV interview.

‘You give a referee, who has done match-fixing before, the biggest match in Germany. What do you expect?’

The official has a history with England star Jude Bellingham from his time in Germany with Borussia Dortmund

The then 18-year-old Bellingham lashed out at Zwayer after Dortmund’s loss to Bayern Munich

Bellingham was subsequently fined €40,000 (£33,843) and even investigated by German police, while Zwayer was banned from refereeing for two months.

Mail Sport has contacted UEFA for comment and asked how, given the background, Zwayer could be chosen to referee such a match.

The 43-year-old Zwayer was involved in a scandal surrounding second division club Hoyzer, who accepted bribes to influence several matches.

Zwayer, then a linesman, assisted him in a match and was paid €300 (£253.82) for it.

He was given a six-month suspension, but the decision was kept secret until the German newspaper Zeit broke the story years later.

In a decisive Bundesliga match in December 2021, Zwayer rejected appeals for a penalty from Dortmund and later awarded Bayern a penalty after adjudicating that Mats Hummels had handled the ball.

Robert Lewandowski converted the ball to give the visitors the win, which now puts them four points ahead of Dortmund, the leaders in the standings.

Bayern went on to win the league, with Dortmund finishing second. Bellingham was 18 when he made the comments and received no suspension.

German football authorities have launched an investigation, while Dortmund say the club stands ‘100 percent’ behind their player.

Sporting director Michael Zorc said: ‘It was a very emotional situation, he was very disappointed and only mentioned known facts.’

Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke added: ‘To make it clear: Jude did not spread lies, but what happened in the past.

“This statement should not have been made, but I see nothing untrue in it. I do not expect this to have any consequences for Jude.”

Zeit’s investigation found that while Hoyzer, who was sentenced to two years and five months in prison, Zwayer’s apartment was searched and that he had behaved in a “very anti-sportsmanlike” manner.

The investigation also found that Zwayer failed to report match-fixing by Hoyzer “of which he was aware” and that he had accepted €300 (£253.82) from Hoyzer before a match between SV Wuppertal and Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004, in order “to prevent critical situations for Wuppertaler SV as assistant referee”.

Norwegian journalist Jan Aage Fjortoft raised questions about Zwayer’s selection, given his history with Bellingham

Munich criminal judge Rainer Koch was in charge of the case for the DFB, who ruled that Zwayer had accepted bribes but had also contributed to the resolution of the case and that no deliberate wrongdoing could be found against him. The FA has also been approached for comment.

At the Westfalenstadion he will be assisted by Stefan Lupp and Marco Achmuller, with Daniel Siebert as fourth official and Bastian Dankert as video referee (VAR).

The winners of the competition will play the final against France or Spain on July 14 at the Olympiastadion.