UEFA had an easy out over ref, but chose to ignore it

FAIR play to Die Zeit, the German newspaper which forecast the storm.

- Malik Ouzia

A decade ago, that publication mused over the likely consequences were Felix Zwayer, the referee it was outing as having once been banned for six months for accepting a €300 bribe, to cross paths with England on one of football's biggest days.

"What would happen if the ruling fell into the hands of the English tabloids after Zwayer had awarded a penalty against England in a World Cup semi-final?" it asked, sounding as if the verdict might be discovered sewn into the lapel of a captured spy.

Instead, it was briefly put on our radar by Jude Bellingham in 2021, when the then Borussia Dortmund midfielder raised Zwayer's past in a punchy post-match interview and earned himself a €40,000 fine.

It is context that makes the decision to place the 43-year-old in charge of tomorrow night's Euro 2024 semi-final between England and Holland a baffling, needless act of self-spotlighting by UEFA, who have given an utterly avoidable controversy life.