What did Jude Bellingham say? Comments Dortmund and England footballer made about referee Felix Zwayer
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Jude Bellingham is in hot water with the German Football Association after comments made following Borussia Dortmund’s defeat by Bayern Munich.
The match, known as the German Clasico - Der Klassiker, saw Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski score the winner from the penalty spot in a five goal thriller.
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Hide AdThe visitors were awarded a spot kick in the 77th minute when Dortmund defender Mats Hummels was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area by the referee.
Lewandowski’s penalty proved to be the difference between the sides as Bayern edged the Bundesliga game 3-2 - prompting Dortmund’s Bellingham to speak his mind post match.
This is what he said...
What did Jude Bellingham say?
Following Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 defeat by Bayern Munich, Jude Bellingham was interviewed to give his thoughts on Der Klassiker - in a hotly contested match.
With the game locked at 2-2, Dortmund saw appeals for a penalty turned down moments before Bayern were awarded a spot kick of their own to seal the three points.
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Hide AdEngland star Bellingham questioned the appointment of referee Felix Zwayer.
Bellingham, speaking to Viaplay, said: "For me, it wasn’t [a penalty]. He [Hummels] is not even looking at the ball and he’s fighting to get it and it hits him.
"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?"
Who is Felix Zwayer?
Felix Zwayer is a German football referee.
He is a FIFA accredited referee and is ranked as a UEFA elite category referee, and was selected as a video assistant referee for the 2018 World Cup.
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Hide AdZwayer has been officiating since 2004 but was banned from refereeing for six months following his involvement in the 2005 German match fixing scandal.
Back in 2005, Zwayer accepted a bribe as an assistant in a 2. Bundesliga match officiated by Robert Hoyzer, who took bribes to fix several matches he refereed.
Zwayer and three other highly ranked referees informed the German football authorities about Hoyzer’s match fixing, but Zwayer was still banned for his involvement.
Why is the German FA investigating Jude Bellingham’s comments?
The DFB - German Football Association - has fined Jude Bellingham 40,000 euros (£34,000) for questioning the appointment of referee Felix Zwayer to officiate Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich.
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Hide AdThe DFB wrote to Bellingham asking the England player to provide further comment on his post Bundesliga match interview "as soon as possible".
A control committee at the German FA has evaluated Bellingham’s response and decided to hit one of the game’s rising stars with a financial penalty. Dortmund will not appeal.
What has Borussia Dortmund said?
Jude Bellingham wasn’t alone in questioning Felix Zwayer’s decision making in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 defeat by Bayern Munich.
Dortmund striker Erling Haaland said post match: "I think it was a scandal when it comes the referee."
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Hide AdDortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said the club remains "100%" behind Bellingham while chief executive Hans Joachim Watzke also backed the youngster.
"To be clear, Jude was not spreading lies, but what happened in the past," he said prior to DFB issuing the fine.
"This statement shouldn’t have been, but I don’t see anything untrue there. I don’t expect that to have any consequences for Jude."
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