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Europa League final referee was banned over match-fixing scandal
Referee Felix Zwayer has long been one of Europe's most controversial referees
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Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are set to collide in the Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday night, in a contest that's likely to carry huge ramifications for both clubs in the context of their respective seasons.
It could well be a fixture filled with twists and turns, and the man in the middle of it all isn't exactly a stranger to the limelight, albeit not always for the right reasons.
Referee Felix Zwayer has been tasked with officiating the game, and will be joined by assistants Robert Kempter and Christian Dietz. Bastian Danker is the man on VAR duty.
This will be Zwayer's second major UEFA final, following on from the Nations League showpiece in 2023, although he did referee several games at Euro 2024, and has also been a regular in the Champions League.
But while he has been in charge of some of the biggest games in European football, he has also courted controversy in his career.
The 43-year-old, who also works as a real estate broker, hails from Berlin, and started officiating for the DFB back in 2004.
Article continues belowHe was promoted to refereeing 2.Bundesliga games three years later, and then went on to become an assistant official in the Bundesliga.
He started to officiate in the Bundesliga as a fully-fledged referee in the 2009-10 season.
During his time as an assistant referee in 2004, Zwayer was accused of accepting a €300 payment from Robert Hoyzer, a referee who was later banned for life for match-fixing, ahead of a game between Wuppertal and Werder Bremen II.
Zwayer denied he affected the outcome of the game, and an investigation never managed to prove otherwise, but it unsurprisingly blew a hole in his reputation.
He would go on to serve a six-month ban.
When he returned, Zwayer rebuilt his career to become one of the highest-profile officials in Germany.
However, his involvement in match fixing became public knowledge again in 2014 following an investigation from a German newspaper.
He's understandably remained a controversial figure ever since.
Zwayer's involvement in match-fixing crops up almost every time he's appointed to a top-level game. In 2021, it came up once again when he was tasked with overseeing the clash between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at the Westfalenstadion.
With the game tied at 2-2, Dortmund's Marco Reus was brought down in the box by Lucas Hernandez. Zwayer's decision was no penalty. Much to Dortmund's anger, he also opted against consulting VAR.
Bayern were then awarded a penalty themselves after Mats Hummels had been penalised for a handball. The decision was widely seen as the correct one, but Zwayer's decision to check with VAR this time around, clearly deepened Dortmund's anger.
After the game, Jude Bellingham was asked for his verdict on the two crucial decisions.
“You give a referee that’s match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany… what do you expect?”
That remark caused a massive stir, with Marco Haas, the referee's assessor that night even filing a criminal complaint for slander and defamation against the England midfielder.
The complaint fizzled out, but the reaction and fall out rumbled on for weeks.
Article continues belowBellingham was eventually fined €40,000 (£34,000). Zwayer, meanwhile, came in for heavy criticism and even death threats, which caused him to consider walking away from the game.
But after taking a brief sabbatical he made a low-key return in the 2.Bundesliga in February 2022.
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