Controversial referee set for first Borussia Dortmund game since 2021

Referee Felix Zwayer will take charge of his first Borussia Dortmund game since 2021 on Saturday as the 2024/25 Bundesliga season gets underway.

Matchday one of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season will see Borussia Dortmund take on Eintracht Frankfurt at the Signal Iduna Park. Nuri Sahin's side will hope to begin their Bundesliga campaign with a win. Ahead of the game, fans have been left incensed by the appointment of controversial referee Felix Zwayer.

Felix Zwayer last officiated a Borussia Dortmund game in 2021

This will be Zwayer's first game in charge of Borussia Dortmund since Der Klassiker in 2021, after which the league decided to not appoint him in matches featuring the club.

Borussia Dortmund's last game involving Zwayer took place in December 2021, when Bayern Munich claimed a 3-2 win at the Signal Iduna Park. The BVB players were left annoyed by controversial decisions from Zwayer on that day, with Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland both criticising the referee after the game.

Zwayer failed to award Borussia Dortmund what looked like a clear cut penalty, before giving Bayern a controversial spot-kick.

Bellingham was even fined 40,000 euros for his comments, as he referenced Zwayer's involvement in a match-fixing scandal in 2005, for which he received a six-month ban. He took a two-month break from officiating matches after that game.

Zwayer was also the referee during the Euro 2024 semifinal between the Netherlands and England at the Westfalenstadion. The Netherlands players were left aggrieved by the award of a rather controversial penalty to England, which helped them come from behind and win 2-1.

On Saturday, Zwayer will be back in Dortmund. He is sure to get a hostile reception from the Borussia Dortmund fans, and all the decisions he makes will be under intense scrutiny.