Felix Zwayer

Felix Zwayer (born 19 May 1981) is a German football referee who is based in Berlin. He referees for SC Charlottenburg of the Berlin Football Association. He is a FIFA referee, and is ranked as a UEFA elite category referee.

Refereeing career
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.

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 allegedly 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.

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.

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.

In December 2021, Zwayer officiated a game between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in which he was heavily criticised for not giving Dortmund a penalty and sending off coach Marco Rose. After the game, Dortmund's Jude Bellingham made reference to the Zwayer affair, saying: "You give a referee that has match fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?"

After the controversy, Zwayer took a break from refereeing. He returned in February 2022 in a 2. Bundesliga game between Hannover 96 and SV Darmstadt, once more receiving criticism for a decision not to give a penalty. His comeback also brought further coverage of his participation in the 2005 match fixing scandal.

He refereed the 2023 UEFA Nations League Final between Croatia and Spain on 18 June 2023, and the 2024 UEFA Euro semifinals match between England and the Netherlands on 10 July 2024.

Personal life
Zwayer is a real estate broker and lives in Berlin.