Soccer referee who served match-fixing ban to work Euro semifinal

July 8 (UPI) -- Referee Felix Zwayer, who once served a six-month ban for match fixing, will officiate during Wednesday's Euro 2024 semifinal between England and the Netherlands, UEFA announced.

The German will work alongside assistant referees Stefan Lupp and Marco Achmuller, fourth official Daniel Siebert and video assistant referee Bastian Dankert in the all-German crew. The game will be held at 3 p.m EDT Wednesday at Dortmund, Germany, and air on Fox.

UEFA did not immediately respond when asked for comment on the Zwayer appointment.

Zwayer received his banishment in 2005. An investigation determined that he was guilty of accepting a $325 bribe from another official -- Robert Hoyzer -- before a 2004 match between SV Wuppertal and Werder Bremn Amateure, with a directive to favor Wuppertaler while he officiated the contest.

Hoyzer was convicted of fraud and given a 2 year, 5-month prison sentence for his role in the scandal.

Zwayer officiated three Euro games so far this year, including the Netherlands' 3-0 win over Romania on Tuesday in Munich, Germany. The referee was previously targeted with critical comments from England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who questioned his performance while playing for Borussia Dortmund during a 2021 loss to Bayern Munich.

"You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game," Bellingham said . "You give a referee -- that has match-fixed before -- the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?"

Bellingham was later fined more than $40,000 for those comments. Zwayer also worked the 2023 UEFA Nations League finale and recently officiated games within the Champions League and Bundesliga, among other leagues and competitions.