Referee Felix Zwayer will not referee any more games "until further notice". Zwayer wanted to "come back to himself mentally", said DFB referee boss Lutz-Michael Fröhlich.
On Sunday, 9 January 2022, Fröhlich said on "Bild TV" that Zwayer had taken vacation but did not tell him when he wanted to referee again. Fröhlich then specified in an interview with Sportshaw that Zwayer no longer wanted to be assigned any games "until further notice". The sporting director of the elite referees of the DFB, as Fröhlich's official title is, explained the reason: "Felix Zwayer wants to come back to himself mentally and reflect on the events following the game in Dortmund." Zwayer was heavily criticized by Borussia Dortmund after their 3-2 defeat in the top Bundesliga game on 4 December 2021 against Bayern. Jude Bellingham had verbally attacked the 40-year-old referee particularly hard. The English national player of BVB had indirectly accused Zwayer of bribery, alluding to the 17-year-old scandal surrounding Robert Hoyzer, and was later punished for this by the DFB. Sportshaw confirmed that Fröhlich expects DFB to reassess the recurring allegations against Zwayer from the Hoyzer referee scandal.
In the opinion of the referee boss, there would still be "testimony against testimony" despite the long-term conclusion of the proceedings. In a ruling by the DFB Sports Court from 2006, which only became known eight years later through the publication of "Zeit online" and whose authenticity was never denied by the association, the DFB justified the suspension against Zwayer by stating that he had accepted 300 euros from Hoyzer to possibly help the betting fraudster, who was later convicted by a court of law in the manipulation of a regional league game. Actual manipulation has never been proven. To this day, Zwayer denies accepting any money from Hoyzer, who was sentenced to two years and five months in prison for aiding and abetting fraud. Fröhlich claims that Zwayer and his lawyer only agreed to the judgment of the DFB Sports Court "for procedural reasons" because they saw no prospect of success in further proceedings. In addition, Zwayer had been promised at the time that he would be allowed to continue his referee career immediately if he accepted the DFB decision. Fröhlich requested live on "Bild TV" that "the story about the Robert Hoyzer affair be cleared up at some point. I would really appreciate it if we will all know what really happened back then. This accusation of taking money or not taking money keeps coming back and needs to be clarified."
Source: Sportschau
