BERLIN, Germany — Borussia Dortmund midfielder
Jude Bellingham was on Tuesday fined $45,000 but escaped a ban after making
explosive comments about the referee following last weekend's Bundesliga home
defeat to
Bayern Munich.
اضافة اعلان
The
German Football Association (DFB) said they have fined
Bellingham for "unsportsmanlike conduct.”
The 18-year-old claimed costly decisions by referee Felix
Zwayer in Saturday's 3-2 loss in a top-of-the-table league clash, were to be
expected given the ref was implicated in the worst match-fixing scandal in
German football history.
In a statement,
Borussia Dortmund said the club "and
the player have accepted the verdict, Jude Bellingham is thus eligible to play
in the Bundesliga game on Saturday at
VfL Bochum."
The England midfielder was fuming when Zwayer awarded Bayern
a penalty on Saturday for a Mats Hummels handball, which resulted in the
winning goal.
Moments earlier, Zwayer had waved on play and refused
Dortmund a penalty after Bayern defender Lucas Hernandez appeared to foul Marco
Reus in the area.
"You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game. If
you give a referee who has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what
do you expect?" Bellingham told Norwegian channel Viaplay.
He was referring to Zwayer's alleged role as a 23-year-old
linesman in a 2005 scandal involving referee Robert Hoyzer.
The latter confessed to taking Croatian mafia money in
return for affecting the outcome of German Cup and lower division matches
including awarding penalties for fictitious offences.
Hoyzer was jailed and Zwayer suspended for six months for
keeping silent though he knew what the referee was doing and for accepting $340.
Bellingham was not alone in questioning Zwayer's decisions
in a heated match.
Dortmund coach Marco Rose was shown a red card after arguing
with Zwayer over his awarding of the key penalty 12 minutes from time.
"Mr Zwayer can go ahead and whistle a few more Dortmund
games," fumed Rose Saturday when asked about Zwayer officiating future
Dortmund games.
"He can throw a few more stones and sticks in our way.
We'll keep going."
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