Felix Zwayer

Zwayer began officiating on the DFB level in 2004. In 2007, he was promoted to officiate in the 2. Bundesliga, as well as an assistant referee in the Bundesliga. Two years later, Zwayer was promoted to officiate in the Bundesliga for the 2009–10 season.[1]

In 2005, Zwayer was involved in the match fixing scandal which centered around 2. Bundesliga referee Robert Hoyzer, who took bribes to fix several matches which he officiated. Zwayer assisted him in a match and accepted a bribe of 300 euros to avoid critical scenes for Wuppertaler SV. In January 2005, he and three other high-ranking referees informed the DFB about Hoyzer's match fixing. He was subsequently banned from refereeing for 6 months, a suspension that was kept secret for several years until the German newspaper Die Zeit published a secret file from the German FA. [2]

On 21 February 2016, Bayer Leverkusen manager Roger Schmidt was sent off by Zwayer in a match against Borussia Dortmund after disputing a free kick that led to a goal for Dortmund, the only goal of the game. Schmidt initially refused to leave, causing the referee to suspend the game and lead the players off the field, causing an eight-minute delay, before the game resumed without Schmidt on the field.[3]

On 30 April 2018, Zwayer was selected by FIFA as one of the video assistant referees for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the first FIFA World Cup to use the technology.[4]

In November 2020, Zwayer was involved on contested decisions against the Stade Rennais F.C. in an UEFA Champions League game with Chelsea F.C.. Decisions took by Zwayer are considered by the press as some of the most scandalous referee decisions of the year.[5] French journalist also reported that those decisions were make to favour big team as Chelsea with the complicity of the UEFA.[6]

Zwayer is a real estate broker and lives in Berlin.

• Profile at dfb.de (in German)
• Profile at worldfootball.net