- Man United take on Tottenham in the Europa League final in Bilbao on May 21
UEFA have confirmed that controversial referee Felix Zwayer will take charge of the Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham.
The two English clubs, who sit dangerously low in the Premier League table, will do battle in Bilbao on May 21, as they both bid to salvage their season’s with silverware and a place in next year’s Champions League.
Taking charge of the showpiece in Spain will be Zwayer, a German referee with over 685 matches under his belt in the professional game.
The 43-year-old, who hails from Berlin, took charge of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final second leg defeat at PSG just last week.
He was also in the middle when Ollie Watkins netted a last-gasp winner for England against the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final, last summer.
However, while Zwayer still referee’s at the highest level, he has attracted ire in years gone by due to his chequered past within the game.
German referee Felix Zwayer has been appointed as the referee for the Europa League final
In 2005, Zwayer was handed a six-month ban by the German FA for allegedly accepting a €300 (£253.82) bribe from a fellow referee who was fixing the match.
An investigation found the official – then a linesman – was paid off by match referee Robert Hoyzer to favour second-tier German club Wuppertaler SV in their match against Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004.
Hoyzer was subsequently banned for life, while Zwayer received just half a year due to being part of a group that brought the match-fixing plot to light.
The German ref has since rebuilt his career and reputation with it to become one of UEFA’s most trusted officials.
Nevertheless, his selection for European football’s biggest clashes still causes controversy in the football community.
The decision to allow Zwayer to referee England’s semi-final in Germany last year is when the most noise was made, due to his history with Three Lions and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham.
In 2021, while Bellingham was still donning the black and yellow of Borussia Dortmund, the midfielder couldn’t help but hit out at Zwayer for his past following a contentious 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.
‘You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game,’ Bellingham said in a post-match TV interview. ‘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.’
The comments made by Bellingham ultimately earned him a less-than-handsome £34,000 fine.
This will be the first time that Zwayer has officiated a European club competition final, although he once took charge of the UEFA Nations League final in 2023.
He has refereed 37 matches in all competitions this season, including just one Europa League game, and was the man in the middle of Arsenal’s recent trip to the Parc des Princes.
During the Gunners’ devastating defeat to the French champions, a controversial penalty decision put the German back under the microscope once again.
Zwayer was called over to the monitor by VAR after the ball appeared to strike Myles Lewis-Skelly on the arm inside the box with the score 2-0 to PSG on aggregate.
Much to the bemusement of many football fans in the stadium, and online, Zwayer decided to overturn his original decision of no penalty and award the spot-kick. Ultimately, David Raya would deny Vitinha’s poor effort.
He has refereed both Tottenham and United in the Europa League before, with the Red Devils unbeaten in the four games he has taken charge of involving them.
