- The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League final will take place tonight, Wednesday, May 21 in a neutral location at the San Mames Stadium
- Felix Zwayer, a seasoned referee with a wealth of experience, will be the man at the center of the pitch when Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur battle it out in Bilbao
Questions have been asked about this season’s UEFA Europa League final referee. The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League final will take place tonight, Wednesday, May 21 in a neutral location at the San Mames Stadium. Football fans from different parts of the world are eagerly waiting for the highly anticipated clash, which will see either Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur emerge winner.
Felix Zwayer, a seasoned referee with a wealth of experience, will be the man at the center of the pitch when the two Premier League sides battle it out in Bilbao. The German has been officiating top matches for the past ten years, with his last big assignment being the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final tie between French side Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League club Arsenal. He was also the center referee during the 2023 Nations League decider and also officiated four matches at Euro 2024.
The Europa League final referee Felix Zwayer in action during a past match. The 44-year-old has officiated several matches, including the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal at Parc des Princes. Photo/ UEFA.com.
Zwayer previously worked with Marco Achmüller and Stefan Lupp for over ten years but will be assisted by his new assistants Robert Kempter and Christian Diet (both German) in Wednesday’s final. The fourth official will be Maurizio Mariani and the head of VAR Bastian Dankert (Germany).
Speaking about the Europa League final, Zwayer told UEFA that he wants to give both Manchester United and Tottenham the chance to play freely. The 44-year-old has spent the past few days watching the previous meetings of both teams to be familiar with their game.
“The two teams know each other very well, and it’s important for me to adapt a little bit to their style of play, while staying true to the UEFA guidelines. I want to deliver the the very best performance, to make it enjoyable for everybody and give the teams the chance to play freely.” He said.
Europa League Final Referee Was Banned For Match-Fixing
Putting aside his extraordinary resume, plenty of questions have been asked about Felix Zwayer, who was previously banned for match-fixing. The German was one of the officials involved in a huge scandal dating back to 2006 when referee Robert Hoyzer was found guilty of match-fixing.
Zwayer was at the time working as the assistant for Hoyzer who admitted to fixing seven games for money. Hoyzer was arrested and then given a lifetime ban from the beautiful game.
On the other hand, his assistant Zwayer was only handed a six-month ban. The Europa League final referee denied being involved with Hoyzer but investigation team later found out that he had received £300 from the official. However, he was only handed a six-month ban considering he was among the people who notified the authorities about Hoyzer’s illegal doings. He was also allowed to return to football after the end of his ban.
Jude Bellingham was fined in 2021 for mentioning Zwayer’s match-fixing scandal. Photo/ DW.
Despite the incident taking place close to a decade ago, questions often still arise when he’s the center referee, especially in big matches. Back in 2021, Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham was fined after he mentioned the match-fixing scandal in post-match interview. Bellingham, who was at the time playing for Borussia Dortmund, expressed his frustrations after referee Zwayer awarded a late penalty to Bayern Munich, which saw the Bavarians win the match.
“Well, for me it wasn’t [a penalty], you know… You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany – what do you expect?” Bellingham, said as per talkSPORT.
