The referee for PSG’s Champions League semi-final second leg clash against Arsenal tonight previously served a six-month match-fixing ban.
Some football fans have been left concerned over the ‘terrible reputation’ of the German match official – Felix Zwayer – before the big game in Paris.
Arsenal are hoping to turn things around and reach their first Champions League final since 2006 after losing 1-0 in the first leg of the semi-final tie.
Zwayer will be the man in the middle at the Parc des Princes – here’s everything you need to know about the controversial 43-year-old referee…
Felix Zwayer’s match-fixing ban explained
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Zwayer was handed a six-month ban 20 years ago in 2005 after accepting a £250 payment to help Robert Hoyzer fix a second-tier match in Germany between Rot-Weiss Essen and Cologne.
Zwayer was working as a linesman at the time, taking the bribe from referee Hoyzer, with the latter revealed to be receiving money from a Croatian gambling syndicate connected to an organised crime group.
Hoyzer, the main man responsible for the fixing the match, was banned from football for life while he also was handed a prison sentence.
Zwayer was suspended for six months for his role in the incident before he went on to become a Bundesliga referee four years later in 2009.
Felix Zwayer called out by Jude Bellingham
Despite the match-fixing incident taking place two decades ago, many football fans in Germany have never forgiven Zwayer for what he did.
Even some players have referenced it – including England superstar Jude Bellingham – after Zwayer gave Bayern Munich a controversial penalty in a Der Klassiker match against his former club Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
‘For me it wasn’t a penalty,’ Bellingham said. ‘You can look at a lot of the other decisions in the game. You give a referee that has, you know, match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany – what do you expect?’
What is Felix Zwayer’s recent record?
Zwayer has officiated six matches in the Champions League this season and has issued four red cards, 31 yellow cards and two penalty kicks.
In the Bundesliga this term, Zwayer has been in charge of 16 matches, handing out 70 yellow cards and five penalties but no red cards.
‘Felix Zwayer one of the worst German referees’
Some football fans have been left gutted over the appointment of Zwayer for PSG’s match against Arsenal, insisting the referee was ‘terrible’ when he took charge of England’s game against the Netherlands at Euro 2024.
‘Arguably one of the worst German refs,’ @karoking1 posted on Reddit. ‘Watch the Bellingham clips lol.’
‘Nooooooooooooooo,’ @IkeaKarma added. ‘He [refereed] the Netherlands – England game and he was terrible.’
‘Zwayer is generally solid… [But] has a terrible reputation in Germany,’ @santa_94 said.
‘Any time he makes a mistake people bring that story back up, and rightly so.’