Bellingham fined 40,000 euros for referee comments

England midfielder Jude Bellingham has been fined 40,000 euros (£34,000) by the German Football Association after questioning the appointment of referee Felix Zwayer for Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich.

Bellingham criticised Zwayer after Dortmund’s 3-2 defeat on Saturday, referring to the official’s six-month ban for a match-fixing scandal in 2005.

The 18-year-old has been fined for “unsportsmanlike behaviour”.

Dortmund will not appeal.

During Saturday’s game, Zwayer turned down Dortmund’s appeals for a penalty before giving their rivals a spot-kick for a Mats Hummels handball. Robert Lewandowski scored it to give Bayern victory.

Speaking to Viaplay, Bellingham said: “You give a referee, that has match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?

“For me, it wasn’t [a penalty]. He [Hummels] is not even looking at the ball and he’s fighting to get it and it hits him.

“You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game.”

Bayern’s win in ‘Der Klassiker’ saw them move four points clear of Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga.

Bellingham joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in July 2020 in a deal which could eventually be worth over £30m.

Source: BBC