As of: February 10, 2024, 2:56 p.m
By: Marius Epp
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Felix Zwayer will lead the Bundesliga top game between Bayer Leverkusen and FC Bayern.
The appointment causes a stir in advance.
Leverkusen – When it gets down to business at the top of the Bundesliga table on Saturday, the focus will be not just 22, but 23 people on the green lawn.
Experience has shown that even referees cannot escape the spotlight in big games like the duel between Bayer Leverkusen and FC Bayern.
This time it will be Felix Zwayer who will lead the groundbreaking game.
The DFB selected the 42-year-old real estate agent for the top game on Saturday evening (6:30 p.m., TV information can be found here).
The personnel causes discussions.
The referee still has to deal with a legacy: his alleged involvement in the Robert Hoyzer betting scandal in 2005.
Felix Zwayer |
|
|---|---|
Born: |
May 19, 1981 (age 42), Berlin |
Profession: |
Real estate agent |
Association: |
SC Charlottenburg |
Awards: |
Referee of the year 2014 |
Felix Zwayer whistles Bayern against Bayer: Ex-referee Gräfe shoots sharply
Ex-referee Manuel Gräfe, who was rejected by the DFB for age reasons, reacted
clearly
to Zwayer's appointment at
Should he be happy that he can still whistle, but neither his performance nor his past are right for him to be scheduled for such top games,” he wrote on the short message service.
Numerous fans also reacted with incomprehension to Zwayer's appearance in what was probably the most important Bundesliga game of the season.
“Just in case you needed any more proof of the catastrophic state of the DFB,” complains one user.
“What does Zwayer have against the DFB that allows him to keep getting these top games?” says another fan.
Felix Zwayer was chosen by the DFB to be the top match referee.
© IMAGO/ActionPictures
Referee Zwayer was convicted by the DFB in 2006 after the Hoyzer scandal
The Referee Interest Group (IG) supported the Bundesliga referee and described his appointment as “absolutely expected.
Zwayer has been whistling very well lately.” Meanwhile, Gräfe is not only getting approval for his post.
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Zwayer was sentenced to a six-month ban in 2006 for “gross behavior contrary to sportsmanship”.
According to the DFB ruling, which Die
Zeit
published eight years later, it can be assumed that Zwayer accepted 300 euros from scandalous referee Hoyzer to help manipulate a game as a linesman.
In addition, he did not immediately report the match-fixing that he was aware of.
Bellingham freakout against Zwayer in the game against FC Bayern
Zwayer's past was already a big topic in the public eye a little more than two years ago.
The main person responsible for this was the then BVB star Jude Bellingham.
In the top game against FC Bayern, Zwayer rated some controversial scenes in favor of the Munich team.
After the game, the Englishman blurted out: “You give the biggest game in Germany to a referee who has already postponed games.
What do you expect?” The 2014 referee of the year then described the statements as “denigrating and disrespectful”.
Bellingham was punished by the DFB for this.
Zwayer denied FC Bayern a clear penalty in the cup final
FC Bayern also had a bad experience with Zwayer: In the cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019, Zwayer denied the record champions a clear penalty after a foul on Javi Martinez, even according to the pictures.
However, Zwayer's balance sheet speaks more for Bayern and not for Leverkusen.
Overall, Bayern won 28 of 36 games with Zwayer as referee, Leverkusen only won 16 of 30. However: Zwayer refereed FC Bayern's 1-5 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt this season.
(ep)