The German derby of poisons: Borussia Dortmund accuses and the referee receives death threats

The long wave of the Germany derby. In December, Borussia Dortmund lost the Klassiker 3-2 at home to Bayern Munich and the consequences are still paid today by a German referee, targeted by online death threats after Jude Bellingham, a young Borussia talent, lit in a fiery post-match, the focus on a story of alleged match-fixing that concerned the German whistle Felix Zwayer. Between the Gialloneri and the Bavarians, between the north and south of Germany there is a consolidated rivalry.

Late last year, the hosts were furious after Bayern received a late penalty to win the match following a handball from Mats Hummels, with manager Marco Rose sent off for protests. Robert Lewandowski did not fail from eleven meters, winning the Klassiker for the reigning Bundesliga champions, who further strengthened at the top of the table. Tempers continued to flare up after the final whistle and Bellingham referred to referee Felix Zwayer’s involvement in a notorious scandal that put German football to shame in early 2005. The England international told ViaPlay: “From a referee who fixed a match in Germany, what do you expect? For me, it was not a penalty. Hummels was not even looking at the ball and was struggling to catch it but is hit and unbalanced, how could he have committed a foul? “.

And so far there is the recrimination for the field episode. But what weighed on Zwayer’s daily life in the weeks following the 2021 Borussia-Bayern was the reference to the serious case 17 years ago, when the German referee was suspended for six months after an incident involving an ex. referee of the 2. Bundesliga, although Zawyer’s direct involvement has not been proven. The story concerned primarily Robert Hoyzer, who had taken bribes to fix numerous matches that he refereed and Zwayer was lauded because he served as his assistant referee. It was said at the time that he would receive € 300 to favor Wuppertaler SV during a match. Zwayer and three others then denounced Hoyzer to the German Football Association and the 40-year-old later rebuilt his career to become an elite FIFA and UEFA referee. To return to today, Jude Bellingham was fined € 40,000 for the referee’s comments after the defeat to Bayern Munich, but the aftermath of the interview did not stop. Zwayer, who continues to deny his involvement in match-fixing, says he received death threats, following Bellingham’s words, during an interview with Sky Sport Germany: “There have been many messages on my official email account that are incredible and that are also very difficult to manage, “he said.