Who is the referee for Netherlands vs England?

England are preparing for their third semi-final at a major tournament with Gareth Southgate at the helm.

The Three Lions have been the toughest of watches this summer, almost as tough as France, but, ultimately, few will care how they won their maiden European Championship if Southgate's squad get the job done in Germany this summer.

The Three Lions have so far escaped refereeing controversies and were part of what was potentially the last game of Daniele Orsato's career on Saturday as they bypassed Switzerland in the quarter-finals. However, the referee for Wednesday's semi-final has had a rather interesting career.

Here's everything you need to know about the man in charge of England's Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands.

Who will referee Netherlands vs England at Euro 2024?

43-year-old German referee Felix Zwayer will be the man in the middle of Wednesday's semi-final in Munich.

Zwayer will be joined by fellow German assistants Stefan Lupp and Marco Achmuller, while Bastian Dankert is the VAR. Daniel Siebert will assume fourth official duties, as he did for England's quarter-final against Switzerland.

This will be the fourth game of Euro 2024 refereed by Zwayer, with the Bundesliga official taking charge of two group stage games and the round of 16 duel between Romania and the Netherlands. The German has dished out 13 bookings during the three games he's officiated at the tournament.

How experienced is Felix Zwayer?

Real estate broker Zwayer overcame an early controversy to enjoy a distinguished career.

The German has been a DFB official for 20 years, took charge of his first Bundesliga match in 2009, and was listed by FIFA in 2012. He's since overseen 229 Bundesliga, 30 Champions League, and 25 Europa League fixtures.

Zwayer, however, only has a few high-profile outings to his name. The vast majority of his Champions League fixtures are group-stage matches, with the German officiating just six knockout stage games - all in the round of 16. He did, however, take charge of the 2018 DFB-Pokal final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich, as well as the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League final between Spain and Croatia.

Euro 2024 is the first major tournament the 43-year-old has officiated at.

Has Felix Zwayer ever refereed England before?

Wednesday's Euro 2024 semi-final will be just the third England game Zwayer has officiated.

The German first took charge of the Three Lions for a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Slovenia in October 2017, which England won 1-0. Zwayer was also in charge of an entertaining 5-3 victory over Kosovo in September 2019 which helped Gareth Southgate's side qualify for Euro 2020.

Refereeing controversies involving Felix Zwayer

That's right, folks, the referee for England's Euro 2024 semi-final has previously served a six-month suspension for his links to a high-profile match-fixing case in Germany back in 2006.

Zwayer, then operating as an assistant, was one of the officials that helped down the disgraced referee Robert Hoyzer. Hoyzer was banned for life having fixed a game between Wuppertal and Werder Bremen II in 2004.

While the DFB found that Zwayer had made no decisions in the game that would've altered the outcome, he did accept €300 from Hoyzer. He was banned for accepting the money and failing to properly report the incident.

England superstar Jude Bellingham later took a big swipe at Zwayer during his time in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund. After a 2021 December Klassiker between Dortmund and Bayern Munich which Bayern won 3-2, Bellingham said: "You give a referee, that has match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?"

Zwayer had rejected claims for a BVB penalty in the game before Mats Hummels was later penalised for handling in the box.

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