ASTON VILLA REFEREE WAS IN MATCH FIXING SCANDAL AND ENRAGED JUDE BELLINGHAM AND ERLING HAALAND

The referee in charge of Aston Villa's Europa Conference League semi-final second-leg trip to Olympiacos served a six-month ban as part of a German match-fixing scandal.

Felix Zwayer, 42, has been confirmed as the official for Thursday's game in Greece as Villa look to overturn a 4-2 first-leg deficit to progress through to their first major European final in 42 years. Zwayer is classed as a UEFA "elite category" referee but has been involved in controversy over the years.

Back in 2005, Zwayer was given a six-month suspension over a match-fixing offence. The scandal involved Bundesliga referee Robert Hoyzer, who was accused of accepting bribes to fix matches. Zwayer and three other officials reported the illegal activities. However, Zwayer served a six-month ban as part of the case.

The incident was brought up again in 2021 when Borussia Dortmund played Bayern Munich. Zwayer was heavily criticised for not giving Dortmund a penalty and sending off manager Marco Rose. Bayern ended up winning the match 3-2, with Robert Lewandowski scoring the winner.

Despite being punished in 2005 for assisting Hoyzer and accepting a bribe, rather than match fixing, midfielder Jude Bellingham, who played for Dortmund at the time, said: "You can look at a lot of other decisions in the game. If you give a referee, who has, you know, match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?"

Bellingham was handed a fine by the German football authorities for his comments, while former Dortmund forward Erling Haaland also said: "As I said he was very arrogant. It seems like he wanted the headlines and he will get them now because he made many mistakes. He was not a good referee. What can I say? Not a good game from him."

Dortmund legend Marco Reus, meanwhile, said at the time: "When you see the replay it looks really bad. It is a shame that he (Zwayer) did not review that one. It was an extremely wild game and a great one for the fans and it is two times more bitter to lose like that."

Following the controversy, Zwayer took a break from refereeing before returning in February 2022 and later angering West Ham boss David Moyes for sending off Aaron Cresswell during a Europa League quarter-final tie against Lyon. Moyes was booked for protesting about the red card.

Zwayer took charge of the Nations League final between Croatia and Spain last summer and has refereed both Arsenal and Brighton in Europe this season.

Villa could be boosted by the return of goalkeeper Emi Martinez for the trip to Olympiacos after the goalkeeper missed the first-leg through injury and suspension. Robin Olsen has deputised in his place and impressed against Brighton on Sunday, but is set to drop down to the bench.

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2024-05-08T08:38:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd