Euro 2024 controversy as Italy vs Albania referee called out over match fixing scandal
Former referee Manuel Grafe slammed the German football association for selecting a referee involved in a match fixing scandal for Euro 2024.
Grafe, 50, went on a late night social media rant when he noticed Bundesliga official Felix Zwayer was the man in the middle for Italy's 2-1 victory over Albania on Saturday. In 2005, Zwayer, 43, was handed a six month suspension as part of a match fixing case which saw referee Robert Hoyzer be accused of accepting bribes to fix matches.
Zwayer and three other officials reported the incident but still had to serve a ban for their involvement, which was classed as assisting Hoyzer and accepting a bribe of €300 (£250) , rather than match fixing itself. Despite the incident taking place almost 20 years ago, Zwayer has not been able to escape the criticism, particularly when it came back into the public eye when Jude Bellingham castigated him after Borussia Dortmund's 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in 2021.
While there were next to no refereeing debates in the defending European champion's victory over Albania, the ever controversial Grafe took to social media to slam the decision to select Zwayer for the competition.
“This match will go down as a great shame in the glorious history of German referees over the last decades," Grafe wrote, referring to Italy's clash against Albania. "A referee who was involved in match fixing and who remained silent about it for six months until the final moment, thereby enabling further manipulation [being involved]," Grafe claimed.
“[He was] Sentenced by own association, was nominated by DFB/UEFA (zero tolerance match fixing) for the Euros and appointed for this game. Fits this strange time where connection is much more important than values and performances (he’s average at best). Other referees deserved it more."
Grafe is known for his cutting and controversial tweets to his 36,000 followers. His rants have even seen current referees hit out against him in interviews, such are their ferocity.
Referee Manuel Grafe (Germany) during Europa League play-off match between West Ham v FC Astra Giurgiu, in London, on August 25, 2016
In May 2023, a video of Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller pausing a post-match interview so he could listen to German official Deniz Aytekin rant about Grafe went viral. Muller was speaking to the cameras after his side lost to RB Leipzig.
While he was talking, he could hear the incensed Aytekin shouting about another tweet Grafe issued at the time. As Muller laughed, the official could be heard screaming: “In the stadium, no one talks about the ref.
"No one. And then Manuel Gräfe sits there in Berlin with his 180 kilos and is chatting such s***!”
Referee Felix Zwayer (C) follows Andrea Cambiaso (L) of Italy and Ylber Ramadani of Albania (R) during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Italy and Albania at Football Stadium Dortmund on June 15, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany
In June 2023, Zwayer did an interview with UEFA after he was selected as the official to take charge of the Nations League Final between Croatia and Spain. When asked about his refereeing career, he said: “You never know what’s going to happen. It’s important to go from match to match. I’ve had good times and bad times as a referee, but I’ve always managed to bounce back after disappointments.
“When you get to high levels as a referee, you dream of taking part in major tournaments, and there’s a big event just around the corner – EURO 2024 in my country next summer. I will continue to do my best and give my all, and I hope that my performances might make me one of the candidates for selection.
“The appointment for the Nations League final is definitely an important step for me – because it shows that no doors are closed to me for the future…”
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