Jude Bellingham in trouble with German authorities following harsh comments about Der Klassiker referee

Jude Bellingham is the subject of a criminal case complaint following his comments about referee Felix Zwayer who officiated the very controversial Der Klassiker last weekend which ended in a defeat for Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park.

The German Football Association have also begun investigations into the 18-year-old midfielder’s comments which called out the body for putting Felix Zwayer – who was involved in a German Bundesliga II match-fixing scandal over a decade ago – in charge of a high-profile game like Der Klassiker.

Borussia Dortmund felt hard-done-by when referee Felix Zwayer turned down their appeals for a penalty to award Bayern Munich a chance to break the 2-2 deadlock in the 77th minute of the match.

They felt even worse after their claims for a penalty a few minutes later was ignored by the referee, with the Robert Lewandowski 77th minute penalty proving to be the match-winner for Bayern Munich, who have now increased their lead over second-placed Dortmund by four points.

Emotions ran high during and after the match, and the young Englishman questioned the appointment of Zwayer, who was banned for six months in 2005 for his part in a match-fixing scandal, to officiant Der Klassiker by the German FA.

The German FA came out with a statement after Jude Bellingham’s comments to journalists on their official website. The statement reads: “The control committee of the German Football Association (DFB) has initiated an investigation against Jude Bellingham.

“After the Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich on Saturday, the Borussia Dortmund player said in a TV interview about referee Felix Zwayer: ‘You are giving a referee who has already fixed matches before the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?’

“As a first step, Bellingham was written to by the DFB control committee and asked to comment on his statement as soon as possible.

“After the opinion has been submitted and evaluated, the control committee will decide on the further progress of the procedure.”

Bellingham comments reported as criminal complaint; Zwayer defends decisions

Jude Bellingham’s comments are now also reportedly being investigated by the German police after a criminal complaint was filed. The case will be forwarded to the Dortmund public prosecutor’s office who will determine if the 18-yar-old will face any criminal charges later on this week.

Felix Zwayer also went to the media to defend his decisions in the controversial game. The referee spoke to Sky Germany and gave reasons for his calls.

“The situation was a standard corner kick,” Zwayer said. “I see in the game that it’s about a touch by Hummels. The question for me was: Is the arm stretched away from the body or not? In real-time, it was not clear whether his arm was moved towards the ball.

“I checked it with [VAR officials] in Cologne and then the arm position was checked. The video assistant made an assessment for himself and said that Hummels had his arm away from the body in an unnatural position.

“In the end, he clearly deflected the ball with his elbow and I came to the decision that it was a penalty.”

On the Dortmund penalty claims, he said: “It was a contact in the upper body area, which is allowed to happen even at high speed. The situation is not black and white, I decided against the penalty because of my line of sight.”

A former Premier League referee, Dermot Gallagher, defended Zwayer’s decisions as correct. Commenting on Dortmund’s penalty appeal, Gallagher said to Sky Sports News, “I think [the referee] is right. There’s a clash between the players, there’s enough shoulder; I didn’t think it was a penalty.

“The players are alongside each other – I can understand why he didn’t give that. It’s a tangle.”

On the penalty awarded to Bayern Munich, Gallagher added: “The arm’s up. If the arm’s above the shoulder and the ball strikes the arm, a penalty can be given. The referee has been sent to the screen because the VAR has picked it up, he looks at the screen and there’s no doubt what happened. He’s got to give a penalty.”

Simon Jordan: Bellingham needs to be put in his place

Former Crystal Palace owner, businessman and pundit, Simon Jordan, has weighed in on the issue on talkSPORT’s latest podcast. Jordan has said that Jude Bellingham “needs to be put in his place”for the comments he made about referee Felix Zwayer.

Jordan insists that the teenager was out of line for pulling on events that happened over 16 years ago to further tarnish the referee’s name because he was angry.

“People are going to think I’m mean spirited and it’s an agenda, but sometimes these players get a little bit ahead of themselves,” he told talkSPORT.

“They are the lunatics and shouldn’t be running the asylum and this is an element where players are thinking they can say what they want and get away with it.

“He shouldn’t be talking like this.

“He’s well within his gift to say that’s poor refereeing but when you start to move into territory on something you clearly don’t know about and someone else has fed you that information, you can hide behind the fact he’s 18 years of age, and get away with it as a result of that but, really and truly, he needs to be put in his place here.”

Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham in furious dig at Der Klassiker referee: “He’s a match-fixer”

Borussia Dortmund’s 18-year-old English wonder-kid Jude Bellingham was left incensed after Bayern Munich snatched a victory in the first iteration of Der Klassiker of 2021/22 German Bundesliga season thanks to referring decisions which he and the whole Dortmund team didn’t agree with.

Jude Bellingham provided the assists for the two goals scored by Dortmund in the 2-3 loss to the German Bundesliga champions in what was a controversial but highly entertaining football match. Referee Felix Zwayer awarded Bayern Munich a penalty in the 77th minute of the game after Matts Hummels was adjudged to have handled the ball.

The players, fans and bench of Borussia Dortmund protested the decision vehemently which held the game for a few minutes, leading to the sending off of Dortmund coach Marco Rose. Robert Lewandowski buried the penalty for his second goal of the game, which was the match-winner.

Speaking to journalists after the match, Bellingham held nothing back as he claimed that a referee like Zwayer should have no business officiating Der Klassiker.

“For me, it wasn’t a penalty, you know?” Bellingham said. “Hummels is not even looking at the ball, and he’s fighting to get it. It hits him and I don’t think he’s even looking at the ball. 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?”

Marco Rose: Mr Zwayer is welcome to put more obstacles in our [Dortmund] way

Marco Rose, Dortmund’s manager, did not end his protests of the penalty decision until he saw a red card from referee Felix Zwayer. Prior to the Bayern penalty, Dortmund had a legitimate penalty call some minutes earlier which they were denied.

Discussing both penalty decisions, Rose gave Jude Bellingham’s match-fixing comments about Zwayer some context while also furiously lashing out at the 40-year-old referee.

He told Viaplay football: “We all saw what happened. The challenge on Marco Reus is a clear penalty. Mats Hummels’ handball is at least arguable, it’s a pity.

“Mr Zwayer is welcome to officiate a few more BVB games. He can put a few more obstacles in our way.”

Jude Bellingham’s comments sprung from the popular knowledge of a match-fixing scandal in which Felix Zwayer was involved over a decade ago, in 2005. German Bundesliga 2 referee Robert Hoyzer accepted bribes to fix several matches back in 2005.

Zwayer assisted him in one of those fixes – a match involving Wuppertaler SV match – also accepting a bribe for his part in the match-fixing. Zwayer and three other officials later informed the DFB (German Football Association) about Hoyzer’s match-fixing, earning a six-month suspension from refereeing for his part in the scandal.

Zwayer has since been looked upon with scrutinising eyes in the German Bundesliga, despite being one of the league’s top referees.

Thomas Muller empathises with Borussia Dortmund

The controversial game continues to generate a lot of discussion in Germany among fans, players and pundits. This edition of Der Klassiker has left both sections of fans with some form of dissatisfaction with how the result turned out.

Bayern Munich have secured the three points in their bid to win another straight German Bundesliga title. However, not even Mr Bayern himself, Thomas Muller, is confident about how his club secured the three points on their trip to Signal Iduna Park.

Speaking to the media following the game, Muller expressed clear doubts about the game from his perspective. “Dortmund’s first goal has probably helped us. We got into the gaps relatively easily afterwards, the goals were scored after mistakes.

“We should have taken the lead in the first half – In the second half, I don’t know whether we deserved to win from the way we played.”

Bayern Munich remain top of the Bundesliga table with four points separating them and second-placed Borussia Dortmund. They will both be in UEFA Champions League action later in the week as Bayern look to round off a perfect group stage campaign with a sixth straight victory while Dortmund look to cement their Europa League qualification spot.

Transfer Rumours: Lewandowski offered to Chelsea in potential swap deal for Timo Werner

News coming out of Germany claims that Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia has been offered the chance to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich in a deal that could see Timo Werner head the other way.

Football consultant Ian McGarry made this bit of information known via The Transfer Window Podcast. McGarry claims that Lewandowski’s agent Pini Zahavi is trying to use his Chelsea contacts to seal the move as the 33-year-old striker seeks a different challenge for the last lap of his illustrious career.

Lewandowski, who currently leads the European golden shoe rankings with 14 goals has been the most prolific frontman of the past two seasons, for which he was recognised at the 2021 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony with the Striker of the Year award.

He also finished second in the Ballon d’Or voting behind Lionel Messi, who during his acceptance speech, urged France Football to give the 2020 award (which was cancelled due to Coronavirus) to Lewandowski as he was the clear favourite for the prize last year.

The 33-year-old Polish national team captain is now in the final 18 months of his contract at Bayern Munich but there have been no talks of a renewal just yet.

And Pini Zahavi, in trying to fulfill his client’s wishes, is pushing the buttons he has at Chelsea to initiate a swap deal which will see a long-term Bayern Munich target, Timo Werner, move to Germany.

McGarry told The Transfer Window Podcast: “Pini Zahavi, often described as the original super-agent, represents Lewandowski and has done for more than two years.

“Zahavi is also a close-confidant of Marina Granovskaia and it is certainly the case that he has offered Lewandowski to Chelsea and Granovskaia.

“It’s a move which could include Werner going to Bayern.”

Manchester United throw their hat in the race for Timo Werner

Elsewhere, Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick is now looking forward to a reunion with the striker according to reports.

Werner looked to be heading to Liverpool before the Blues hijacked the transfer for £47.5 million last summer. Things have not quite worked out for the striker at Stamford Bridge but he is still not short of suitors.

Rangnick, who just got his England work permit, is reportedly exploring the possibility of signing Werner for United in the summer.

It is important to note that Rangnick’s deal with United is a six-month interim manager role with a two-year consultancy role following immediately after.

This means that Rangnick will not manage Timo Werner directly if this shock signing happens for United, who will be losing Edinson Cavani at the end of the season and will be shopping for a replacement.

Werner is also a target for Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Swiss star has heart set on Liverpool move in the summer

Reports suggest that Liverpool is the favoured destination for Borussia Monchengladbach defensive midfielder, Denis Zakaria, who is being courted by a host of clubs.

The highly sought-after 25-year-old has expressed a wish to work with Jurgen Klopp and is not keen on renewing his contract with Gladbach according to reports.

Zakaria signed for the German Bundesliga outfit in 2017 after starting off his football career in Switzerland playing for Servette and Young Boys. He broke in immediately into the team’s starting line up and has remained a key player ever since, playing 138 games to date for Gladbach.

The defensive midfielder, who has been compared to Patrick Vieira, has been a key player for the German side over the past couple of years as he has played 138 times.

Gazzetta Dello Sport, the source of the reports, claim that a host of Premier League clubs including Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as AS Roma, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Juventus are all interested in the defensive midfielder.

But the report states that Liverpool is Zakaria’s favoured destination as he “dreams” of a move to the Premier League to work under Jurgen Klopp.

Monchengladbach would reportedly demand between €8 million and €10 million for him in January.

Liverpool can offer Zakaria a much better financial package

The Swiss international is a versatile player who can not only provide cover for the defence, but can be used as a box to box midfielder in the mould of Georginio Wijnaldum and also as a centre-back.

Zakaria is strong, energetic, a superb tackler and a great passer of the ball and is quickly developing into a fine all-round midfielder in the same mould as Premier League legendary midfielder and current Crystal Palace boss, Patrick Vieira.

Barcelona was one of the first clubs to contact him through his representatives according to reports, but more reports suggest that Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez isn’t completely certain of the move as it’ll mean losing Frenkie de Jong.

Among his current suitors, only Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Liverpool can offer him a good financial package as well as a winning project to be a part of.

However, the interest from both City and Bayern are not as concrete, making it easier for Zakaria to chase his dream move to Liverpool.

The midfielder is also reportedly still open to the Barcelona switch if the Liverpool move falls through.

Liverpool fans excited about Denis Zakaria links

Liverpool fans on Twitter are very excited about the links to the Swiss international and are calling for Fenway Sports Group (FSG) to go for the defensive midfielder in January.

It is worthy of note that Liverpool have a strict transfer policy which makes it such that they rarely sign players, even going a whole season on two separate occasions without a new player.

Fans of the club are excited about the links and the news coming out of the 25-year-old’s interest in playing at Anfield, and this could be a way for the already out of favour FSG to score some points with the fans.

Liverpool fans are not just the only fans hoping to sign him. Fans of all the clubs to which Denis Zakaria is linked have started tweeting and sending messages to their clubs to pull a rabbit out of their hats by signing the midfielder.

Granit Xhaka chooses next destination after Arsenal

Granit Xhaka has been speaking about his future while recovering from the knee injury he sustained at the beginning of the season.

The Swiss international hopes to make a return to the German Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach after his contract with Arsenal runs out.

Xhaka joined the Gunners in 2016 – the same year that Mikel Arteta retired from football as Arsenal {statorium_player pid=undefined tid=undefined sid=undefined text=”Arsenal”} captain – from Monchengladbach for £35 million at 23 years old after 108 appearances for the German side which he joined from Swiss side, Basel.

He has played 165 games for the Gunners so far, scoring nine goals including some Puskas-worthy strikes, and created 15 goals for his teammates in that period.

Arsenal almost lost Xhaka at the beginning of the season, however, as there was a breakdown in contract talks with the midfielder. He eventually ended up signing a contract to keep him at the club until 2024, delighting many Arsenal fans and annoying quite a few.

Xhaka is currently recovering from an injury that he picked up in Arsenal’s win over Tottenham Hotspur on matchday four of the season and is on the road to a full recovery. He is expected to be back in training by January but will have to contend for his place in the midfield with Thomas Partey and Albert Sambi Lokonga, who have both slotted in seamlessly into the spot he left vacant.

Money not a motivation for leaving Borussia Monchengladbach, says Xhaka

A £35 million for a player was among the top spend back in 2016, but Granit Xhaka has claimed that his move to Arsenal was to fulfil a dream, and not to earn more money.

The 29-year-old laid it all bare while speaking with Mit Geredet Podcast. “I never made the move from Borussia to {statorium_team tid=”9″ sid=”112″ text=”Arsenal “}for the money. It was a dream for me to play in England.

“I have just extended my contract, which still has two and a half years to run. Then I’ll be 32, and if Max Eberl (Monchengladbach’s director of sport) is willing to bring me back when I’m 32, my door will be open.”

Xhaka injury may cause problems for Arteta in January

Granit Xhaka’s return to training is slated for January, but may not b enough to help Mikel Arteta avoid a potential midfield meltdown that could occur after both Thomas Partey and deputy holding midfielder Mohammed Elneny leave the team to represent their nations at the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

Arteta will only be left with Albert Sambi Lokonga and Ainsley Maitland-Niles as Xhaka recovers, and the club may be either forced to rush his return or go into the market for another midfielder. If the latter option is chosen.

It’ll lead to another dilemma when Xhaka fully recovers and Arsenal’s African contingent come back from international duty, and Arteta needs to make squad selections.

How Arteta manages to handle this will be a testament to his skills as a manager and will go a long way in helping him retain the confidence of the Arsenal board, as calls for his sack continue to intensify among Arsenal’s fanbase.

Manuel Neuer and Bayern Munich begin contract extension talks

German shot-stopper Manuel Neuer is in talks with the German Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich over a contract extension.

The 35-year-old currently has a contract with the Bavarians until 2023 but is looking to extend it for two more years, until 2025.

Neuer has enjoyed much success individually, with the club, and with the German national team since joining Bayern Munich from Schalke 04 in 2011. His 451 appearances for the German champions places him in 12th position for all-time appearances for the club. By the end of his current contract, he’d have broken into the top 10, displacing Bastian Schweinsteiger who ended his time at the German champions after 500 games.

More time on the sidelines for promising goalkeeper Alexander Nübel

Bayern Munich turned to Schalke 04 again to search for a replacement for Manuel Neuer, who despite his qualities, is closer to retirement. Alexander Nübel joined the Bavarians on June 30, 2020, on a free transfer.

The 6ft 4in goalkeeper, fondly referred to as “Neuer Mark II” by fans made only two appearances in all competitions for the German giants after he joined before being shipped off to French side AS Monaco on a two-year loan spell for playing time.

Nübel, speaking to German news outlet Kicker, praised Manuel Neuer’s abilities and spoke about how much he learnt from the German number 1.

“I learned a lot from Manuel Neuer. His movement, his understanding of the game, the way he interacts with the defenders. I compared the way he reacts to some situations in training to mine, and what I can take from it,” Nübel said.

He also spoke of his desire to play for and succeed at Bayern Munich the same way Manuel Neuer, who, like him, moved from Schalke to Bayern Munich, did.

“I joined Bayern because they presented me with the best career plan. I still have enough time to play games for Bayern.”

Despite the club considering Nübel to be Neuer’s long-term successor, the veteran’s form will only mean that Nübel will have to wait for even longer to get his chance between the sticks for Bayern Munich. Nübel’s loan at AS Monaco, currently coached by former Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac, lasts till 2023, which is the year Neuer’s current contract ends. But with the news of an extension, it only means that Nübel will be back at the club and on the bench again.

Bayern Munich planning squad meticulously and effectively

Manuel Neuer is not the only Bayern star whose contract is being reviewed. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka have already signed new long-term contracts back in September, committing most of their playing prime to the club. Talks are also ongoing with Serge Gnabry whose contract expires with Bayern Munich in 2023 as well.

Securing an extension for Neuer, however, not only shows the club’s belief in the 35-year-old but shows how much of a balanced side Bayern Munich are and want to remain.