It was a wild match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich over the weekend in the Bundesliga. The 3-2 match was decided by a Robert Lewandowski penalty in the 77th minute.
A visibly upset Borussia Dortmund side were frustrated that only moments before the deciding penalty referee Felix Zwayer did not hear the complaints of various Dortmund players regarding their own claim for a penalty kick.
Jude Bellingham did not pull any punches after the match and let Zwayer have it and stated, “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. You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game.” Those comments have now led to a criminal complaint filed against the young England international.
Criminal complaint filed against Jude Bellingham
Felix Zwayer (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
According to BILD the criminal complaint was filed by Marco Haase, who is a voluntary referee observer for the German soccer federation. What can come from a typical heated soccer player’s post-match comments remains a mystery, but Dortmund as a club have poured cold water on the comments. Dortmund officials also stated that Bellingham is only 18-years-old and will learn how to talk to the media post game. The Dortmund public prosecutor’s office will now determine whether any criminal charges will be filed against Bellingham. A decision on the matter is expected later this week.
Felix Zwayer was handed a six-month ban by the German FA in 2005 for accepting bribes and aiding another referee in match fixing. His punishment was kept in the dark until a German newspaper made the whole incident public. Inexplicably Zwayer, a referee involved in match fixing, was promoted through the years and eventually was a VAR referee in the 2018 World Cup.
Bayern Munich are first in the Bundesliga with Dortmund now four points behind.
