The German Football Association (DFB) has fined Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham €40,000 ($45,008) for unsportsmanlike conduct after he criticised referee Felix Zwayer following Saturday’s Bundesliga defeat by Bayern Munich.
Zwayer turned down Dortmund’s appeals for a penalty before awarding one to Bayern following a Mats Hummels handball. Robert Lewandowski scored the winning goal from the spot to help Bayern earn a 3-2 win and extend their lead at the top to four points.
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After the game, England international Bellingham said: “You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game. You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?”
The DFB said in a statement on Tuesday that Bellingham “doubted and ultimately denied the referee’s impartiality” with his comments. Both Dortmund and Bellingham have accepted the DFB’s verdict.
Zwayer was named in a 2005 scandal involving referee Robert Hoyzer, who was jailed for fixing matches in a €2 million betting fraud.
The DFB had banned Zwayer for six months for accepting €300 from Hoyzer and agreeing to make incorrect decisions in a match when he was an assistant referee.