Felix Zwayer will referee FC Bayern’s upcoming top game against Leverkusen. Former referee Manuel Gräfe sharply criticized the decision.
Former referee Manuel Gräfe attacked Bundesliga referee Felix Zwayer. The 42-year-old will referee the top game between Bayer Leverkusen and FC Bayern on Saturday evening (from 6:30 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) – much to Gräfe’s dismay. He does not agree with the choice of his former colleague and has now expressed himself on Platform X.
Shortly after the DFB announced the referee appointment, Gräfe wrote: “Zwayer is the only one ever convicted by his own association for involvement in the betting scandal who was allowed to continue refereeing.” Zwayer should be happy “that he can still whistle.”
Zwayer was sentenced to a six-month ban by the DFB sports court in 2005 in the wake of the Robert Hoyzer betting scandal. He did not directly report the match-fixing that he was aware of at the time. But Gräfe followed up and referred to Zwayer’s current work: “Neither his performance nor his past are right to schedule him for such top games.”
BVB game already caused discussions
Most recently, Zwayer caused a stir in the top game between FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund in December 2021. Former BVB star Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) criticized the performance after the game. After a controversial decision, he said: “You give the biggest game in Germany to a referee who has already postponed games. What do you expect?”
Bellingham was fined 40,000 euros by the DFB for his comment. Since then, things have remained quiet around Zwayer. In the current season he has already refereed two Munich games and one for Leverkusen.