Jude Bellingham has been fined €40,000 (£33,991) by the German FA for his comments about referee Felix Zwayer following Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.
Bellingham criticised Zwayer’s performance in Saturday's Der Klassiker after the official turned down a penalty appeal for Dortmund, before awarding a crucial spot-kick to Bayern in the 77th minute for handball against Mats Hummels.
Robert Lewandowski converted the penalty against his former team to secure an important victory for Julian Nagelsmann's side, who are now four points clear of Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga.
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Bellingham hit out at Zwayer after the match and made reference to a six-month ban which was handed to the German referee in 2005 following a match-fixing scandal.
Bellingham told ViaPlay: "You give a referee, that has match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?
"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.
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"You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game."
The German FA deemed Bellingham's comments to be "unsportsmanlike conduct" and issued the midfielder with the fine on Tuesday, with the England international avoiding a suspension.
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Speaking after the match on Saturday, Zwayer defended his decision to award Bayern the penalty kick.
"The situation was a standard corner kick," he told Sky Sport Deutschland.
"I see in the game that it's about a touch by Hummels. The question for me was: Is the arm stretched away from the body or not? In real time, it was not clear whether his arm was moved towards the ball.
"I checked it with [VAR officials] in Cologne and then the arm position was checked.
"The video assistant made an assessment for himself and said that Hummels had his arm away from the body in an unnatural position.
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"In the end, he clearly deflected the ball with his elbow and I came to the decision that it was a penalty."
According to BILD, German FA referee observer Marco Haase filed a complaint against Bellingham for his post-match comments and Anton Nachreiner, head of the German FA's control committee, has confirmed the 18-year-old is under investigation.
"The control committee will examine the statement of the Dortmund player Jude Bellingham for its relevance to sports criminal law," he told SID.
Featured Image Credit: PA ImagesTopics: Jude Bellingham, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Bundesliga