December 7 – The German Football Association is investigating England midfielder Jude Bellingham’s comments criticising the referee during Borussia Dortmund’s weekend defeat to Bayern Munich.
Bellingham, 18, questioned Felix Zwayer’s appointment, referring to his six-month ban for a German match-fixing scandal in 2005.
Zwayer rejected Dortmund’s appeals for a penalty before awarding their arch-rivals their own spot-kick in the 3-2 win for Bayern.
A criminal complaint has been filed and the case will now be forwarded to the Dortmund public prosecutor’s office who will determine whether there will be any criminal charges against Bellingham.
After the game Bellingham told ViaPlay in a flash interview: “You give a referee that has match fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?”
The German FA has asked Bellingham for an explanation before deciding whether to take any action.
A statement on their official website said: “The control committee of the German Football Association (DFB) has initiated an investigation against Jude Bellingham.
“As a first step, Bellingham was written to by the DFB control committee and asked to comment on his statement as soon as possible. After the opinion has been submitted and evaluated, the control committee will decide on the further progress of the procedure.”
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