Declan Rice’s England midfield partner and Dortmund star Jude Bellingham had his say on West Ham referee Felix Zwayer.
David Moyes refused to discuss referee Zwayer after his West Ham red card decision against Lyon.
The 10-men of West Ham battled to a brave 1-1 draw at home against a Lyon side employing the dark arts blighting European football.
The big talking point in the game came just before half-time when Aaron Cresswell was ludicrously sent off by Zwayer, who barely gave West Ham a decision all game long.
And to rub salt in the wound the German ref pandered to every Lyon dive and moan.
Moyes was booked by the ref as he berated him over the incident at half-time.
But in his press conference after the game Moyes refused to discuss the official.
Ahead of the game fellow West Ham website KUMB reported how Zwayer was once suspended from football by the German Football Association.
His performance overseeing the West Ham vs Lyon quarter-final has been widely criticised by fans, pundits and journalists.
And it is not the first of Zwayer’s performances that have made headlines after being criticised this season.
Declan Rice’s England midfield partner Jude Bellingham had his say on West Ham referee Zwayer earlier this season.
Birmingham boy Bellingham has been a sensation for Borussia Dortmund and looks a sure bet to partner West Ham talisman Rice in the heart of England’s midfield for years to come.
But after the clash with Lyon, West Ham fans will be taking a keen interest in an incident earlier this season where Bellingham was hit with a £34,000 fine for publicly criticising Zwayer following Dortmund’s controversial defeat to Bayern Munich.
Angered by two contentious penalty decisions that went against Dortmund in the high-profile Bundesliga tussle, Bellingham referenced Zwayer’s ban for his part in a match-fixing scandal during a post-match interview.
Bellingham told ViaPlay (as reported by The Daily Mail) after Dortmund’s 3-2 loss: “You give a referee, that has match fixed before, the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?'”
Rice’s England teammate was fined for the comments about Zwayer but escaped a ban (Sky Sports Germany).
Zwayer was conned by diving Lyon striker Dembele, who was caught on camera winking at his teammates when Cresswell was given his marching orders.
The ref also booked West Ham forwards Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio with the former’s yellow seriously questionable too.
Zwayer left the London Stadium to a cacophony of jeers from West Ham fans after his performance with the home crowd feeling the ref had pandered to Lyon’s blatant spoiling tactics.
The good news for the Hammers is that Zwayer will not be in charge for the second leg in France next week.