Jude Bellingham set for awkward reunion with ref he accused of match-fixing for England's Euro 2024 semi-final
Jude Bellingham is set for an awkward reunion with a referee that he accused of match-fixing for England's Euro 2024 semi-final clash.
England booked their spot in the semi-finals after beating Switzerland on penalties last Saturday.
Bukayo Saka cancelled out Breel Embolo's opener, forcing extra-time before a penalty shootout.
Cole Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold all successfully converted their spot-kicks while Jordan Pickford pulled off a crucial save to stop Manuel Akanji from scoring.
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The Three Lions will face the Netherlands, who came from behind to beat Turkey 2-1, for a place in the final of Euro 2024.
The semi-final showdown takes place in Dortmund - the old home of Bellingham, who enjoyed a spell with Borussia Dortmund before joining Real Madrid last summer.
And during his time with the Bundesliga side, Bellingham was hit with a €40,000 fine by German officials after his extraordinary outburst aimed at referee Felix Zwayer, who made a controversial decision back in 2021.
The England starlet made reference to match-fixing when criticising Zwayer's performance during Dortmund's 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.
"For me, it wasn't [a penalty]. He [Hummels] is not even looking at the ball and he's fighting to get it and it hits him," he exclaimed.
"You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game."
"You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?"
German official Zwayer has been appointed to take charge of Wednesday's clash between England and The Netherlands.
In 2005, he was involved in a match-fixing incident after it was revealed that he accepted a €300 bribe from referee Robert Hoyzer, who was involved in a larger match-fixing scandal at the time in Germany.
Zwayer was subsequently banned from refereeing for six months by German officials.
Topics: Jude Bellingham, England, Euro 2024, Football
Nasir Jabbar