Manchester United star Luke Shaw responds after UEFA appoints referee involved in match fixing for England’s Euro 2024 semi-final vs Netherlands
Manchester United star Luke Shaw has stated that England are not worried about UEFA appointing Felix Zwayer as the match official for The Three Lions' Euro 2024 semi-final. Gareth Southgate and Co. are gearing up for a final-four game against the Netherlands on Wednesday (July 10).
The German referee was dealt a six-month ban back in 2006 after it was found that he had accepted a €300 bribe while assisting Robert Hoyzer. Despite UEFA's decision to appoint him as the referee in England's next game, Shaw has decided not to pay too much attention to it.
When asked if he was thinking about it, the Red Devils' left-back replied (via Mirror):
"Not at all. We have to respect UEFA on whoever they decided to pick as ref. That won't change anything for us, we just focus on the game at hand and not focus on the refs we're given."
Heading into this contest, The Three Lions haven't been at their best and managed to beat Switzerland 5-3 on penalties in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. Before that, they came back from behind to defeat Slovakia 2-1 in extra-time.
Throughout the competition, England have found the back of the net on just five occasions, which is certainly going to be a matter of concern for Southgate. Moreover, they need to be wary of a Netherlands side, who will be threatening in attacking areas.
When England star Jude Bellingham hit out at referee set to officiate his team's semi-final at Euro 2024
One of England's stars, Jude Bellingham, has already had an infamous run-in with Felix Zwayer when the midfielder was representing Borussia Dortmund. The incident took place when Dortmund suffered a 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in November 2021.
Bellingham was infuriated by a penalty decision given against his team during this late defeat to the Bavarian side. After that match, the Real Madrid man said (via Mirror):
"I don't even think he's looking at the ball but you know you can look at a lot of the decisions in the game. You give a referee that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany what do you expect?"
Bellingham will most likely start in the England midfield along with Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo against the Dutch. So far in Euro 2024, he's bagged two goals and in five appearances.