Referee Felix Zwayer has been appointed to oversee Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League clash with Olympiacos on Thursday evening, he’s a figure who has been criticised in the past.
Aston Villa are one game away from reaching the final of the Europa Conference League however, Unai Emery’s side must overcome a significant challenge to win the tie.
In the first leg, Olympiacos stunned Villa Park by winning 4-2, seeing Ayoub El Kaabi net a hattrick and Santiago Hezze extend the deficit to two goals late on.
It will be the ultimate test for Villa in Piraeus on Thursday night, with the task simple, score three goals with no reply in 90 minutes and the final will await them.
READ MORE: Villa must do something they’ve only done twice to overcome Olympiacos
The issue is, Villa have kept just two clean sheets away from home in the Conference League this season, and Olympiacos have demonstrated just how competent they are in front of goal, making Thursday’s challenge one requiring impeccable performances in attack and defence.
While the mission for Emery’s squad is clear, there may be one alarm bell ringing ahead of the decisive fixture, as UEFA confirmed who will officiate the game.
Felix Zwayer will referee Aston Villa semi-final clash with Olympiacos
German referee Felix Zwayer has been nominated as the official to oversee the proceedings in Greece on Thursday.
Zwayer is a name well known in European football but not necessarily for the right reasons, with Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham once having a lot to say about the ‘arrogant’ referee.
Speaking back in 2021, the former Borussia Dortmund duo were perplexed at the official’s decisions during Dortmund’s defeat to Bayern Munich.
Haaland dubbed Zwayer’s performance in that particular game as a ‘scandal’, calling the German international ‘arrogant’ for his approach to communicating with players.
“I think it was a scandal when it comes to the referee.
“I asked him why he didn’t just go and look. He said ‘there’s no need’, he was arrogant but I will not say more.”
England international Jude Bellingham was equally as angered by the referee’s display, giving a direct approach to his criticism by saying:
“You can look at a lot of the decisions from the game, you give a referee that has match fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?”
Who is Felix Zwayer?
Bellingham was referring to a 2005 ordeal in which Zwayer confessed to fixing matches and betting on games in Germany’s lower tiers, seeing him pick up a six-month suspension.
The German official will now take charge of Villa’s fate in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening, a fixture that Emery must ensure his side perform at their very best to reach the final.
While noise coming from the officials will certainly be ignored by a figure such as Emery, who has made few excuses for his side throughout the 2023/24 calendar, Villa will be wary that Zwayer made an enemy in another Premier League side just two years ago.
In 2022, David Moyes expressed his dissatisfaction at how the German oversaw West Ham’s Europa League fixture against Lyon, where the referee was scolded for not allowing the game to flow, as relayed by Sky Sports.
“I think the referees we’ve had in the [Europa League] games this season have all been very, very good and allowed the games to flow and not accepted soft things.
“I just thought the game never got any chance to flow really from the early part. It was quite broken up.”
A lot can be said about the referee but Villa must ignore the talk and focus on what they can do on the pitch, with their mission abundantly clear ahead of their battle with Olympiacos.
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