Sunday, December 5th, 2021
BVB feels disadvantaged
Referee Zwayer magically attracts anger
Referee Felix Zwayer’s game management at the top game in the Bundesliga ensures lasting discussions. Borussia Dortmund in particular feels disadvantaged by the impartial – and refers to the history of Zwayers. This is not the first time that it has come under heavy criticism.
Felix Zwayer turned himself in. The Sky moderators were just blaspheming that the referee was hiding – that’s when he came to the interview. After 100 disturbing minutes, the Berlin referee calmly and comprehensibly explained his decisions in the top Bundesliga game. However, this did not have a mitigating effect on the assessment. One thing was particularly spicy: Ironically, his archenemy Manuel Gräfe should classify ZDF’s performance in the 2: 3 (1: 2) of Borussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich for the ZDF in the sports studio. It became a punishment. “I can absolutely understand the anger,” said Gräfe: “The decisions were made at BVB’s expense and were unfortunately decisive for the game.”
In Zwayer’s game management, “the balance was generally not right”, Gräfe judged: “It is part of such a top game that a top referee has a feel for it and works it off properly.” BVB sports director Michael Zorc called Zwayer “overwhelmed”. In addition, the history should be mentioned. Last summer, Graefe, who had been sorted out for reasons of age, told the “Zeit Magazin” that it was a joke that Zwayer ran Bundesliga games: “Anyone who has once accepted money and kept Hoyzer’s manipulation secret for six months should not whistle in professional football.”
Hoyzer. The painful trigger point in German refereeing, the biggest scandal. Gräfe helped uncover it in 2005. According to the files, Zwayer, Robert Hoyzer’s assistant and later key witness, pocketed money at the time, and no match-fixing has been proven. This is one of the reasons why BVB professional Jude Bellingham’s criticism went too far: “You give a referee who has already postponed games the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?”
Behave “grossly contrary to sport” and condemned by the DFB
Always trouble with Zwayer. Lucien Favre, Friedhelm Funkel, RB Leipzig, Hamburger SV, FC Ingolstadt, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern themselves – the list of angry people in recent years is long, the Berliner seems to magically attract controversy. In the 2018 DFB Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt (1: 3), he denied Munich a clear penalty, which would have meant the late 2: 2.
After a controversial handball decision in the Revierderby 2019, which BVB lost 4-2 to Schalke, he said: “If you don’t agree with this rule, the referees are actually the poorest pigs.” But sometimes they also contribute a lot. Especially since Zwayer always has the blemish of being involved in the Hoyzer scandal.
the “Time” quoted 2014 from the judgment against Zwayer, which became public only nine years after the trial, that the referee behaved “grossly contrary to sport” and “did not report the game manipulation of Robert Hoyzer known to him to the DFB for a longer period of time”.
It was certainly not to Zwayer’s disadvantage at the time that the German Football Association offset its six-month ban against the time it had to suspend as a witness in the Hoyzer case for reasons of protection. Then he was allowed to whistle again immediately. The judgment of the association, the formulations of which leave no doubt that the DFB is certain that Zwayer accepted a bribe – it remained unpublished for years. The prosecution closed the case against Zwayer in November 2005 on payment of a fine. No conviction, but also no acquittal. According to “Zeit”, the setting was made “with not inconsiderable reservations”, for example because Zwayer quickly changed his cell phone number when Hoyzer’s manipulation became public.
Association defends Zwayer
Then as now, the DFB stands behind the referee. Jochen Drees, project manager for the video evidence, has the following assessment made on the association’s own website: “Discussions about the hand penalty against Mats Hummels (73rd) are” understandable “in view of Zwayer’s generous line, but” if you look at the situation in isolation, it is Evaluation of a punishable handball and thus a penalty kick correctly. “
When Lucas Hernandez bumped against Marco Reus, there was “upper body contact and a slight push by the Munich player”. “There is no hit in the foot area here.” Zwayer did not use the TV images because he had “complete perception and control over the entire process”. “The duel will not be judged to be punishable. Since the information in the pictures does not differ from the referee’s perception, it is purely a question of evaluation that the referee has to make on the pitch.” But the subject is far from over.