Jude Bellingham aims furious match-fixing dig at referee after Dortmund's loss to Bayern
JUDE BELLINGHAM was furious with some of the refereeing decisions on Saturday night.
Posted Sunday, December 05, 2021 by Express.co.uk
Jude Bellingham aimed a furious dig at referee Felix Zwayer by claiming he shouldn't have been officiating Borussia Dortmund's clash with Bayern Munich because of his involvement in a past match-fixing scandal. Dortmund suffered a controversial 3-2 defeat against their fierce rivals on Saturday evening.
The English wonderkid was left incensed by some of the refereeing decisions and did not hold back as he gave an angry post-match interview.
Bellingham , 18, was particularly enraged by Zwayer's decision to award Bayern a penalty with the scores tied at 2-2 in the 77th minute.
The spot kick was given by VAR after Mats Hummels appeared to handle in the area and was converted by Robert Lewandowski, with the strike proving to be the winner.
The decision was hugely contentious and left Dortmund's players, fans and their manager furious.
Marco Rose was sent off for dissent after his animated appeals on the touchline fell on deaf ears as tempers threatened to boil over.
Bellingham, who had provided two assists in the match, was still irate at the final whistle and lashed out at referee Zwayer.
Discussing the penalty decision, he told Viaplay football: "For me it wasn't a penalty, you know?
"Hummels is not even looking at the ball, and he's fighting to get it.
"It hits him and I don't think he's even looking at the ball. You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game.
"You give a referee that has match fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?"
BELLINGHAM: – You give a referee that has match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?
— Viaplay Fotball (@ViaplayFotball) December 4, 2021
(@JanAageFjortoft) pic.twitter.com/H5yU9hz6PT
Dortmund players surround Felix Zwayer after he awards a controversial penalty
Bellingham's comments were referring to Zwayer's involvement in a match-fixing scandal back in 2005.
The scandal centered around Bundesliga 2 referee Robert Hoyzer, who accepted bribes to fix several matches. Zwayer assisted him in a Wuppertaler SV match where he had also accepted a bribe.
Zwayer and three other officials informed the DFB (German Football Association) about Hoyzer's match mixing, and he was subsequently handed a six-month suspension from refereeing for his part in the scandal.
The 40-year-old, who also recently took charge of England's World Cup qualifying game against Albania at Wembley, was at the centre of more controversy on Saturday.
Dortmund had taken the lead through Julian Brandt in the fifth minute, but were pegged back almost immediately through Lewandowski.
Kingsley Coman put the visitors in front before Erling Haaland levelled the scores for a second time.
Then came the contentious penalty call, which ended up deciding the game as Lewandowski scored his second to seal the victory for Bayern.
Dortmund boss Rose was also critical of Zwayer after the match and aimed a sarcastic dig at him following the defeat.
"We all saw what happened. The challenge on Marco Reus is a clear penalty. Mats Hummels' handball is at least arguable, it's a pity," he said.
"Mr Zwayer is welcome to officiate a few more BVB games. He can put a few more obstacles in our way."
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