Gareth Southgate says Felix Zwayer's much-discussed appointment for England's Euro 2024 semi-final is "not even a consideration", despite the referee's history with Jude Bellingham.
England midfielder Bellingham, then of Borussia Dortmund, was fined €40,000 for his comments relating to Zwayer's background after a controversial defeat to Bayern Munich in 2021.
"You give a referee that has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect," Bellingham said, seemingly referring to the German official's six-month ban for match-fixing.
Zwayer was given a six-month ban in 2005 after he was investigated for taking a £250 bribe from official Robert Hoyzer, who was subsequently banned for life.
Southgate has no issues with Zwayer's appointment in an all-German officiating lineup for Wednesday's clash with the Netherlands, however.
"Everybody knows how I deal with referees, with complete respect for every referee," the England manager said at Tuesday's pre-match press conference.
"The two guys at UEFA who have been running the referees programme respect the way we do that.
"I have no concerns about who the referee is, he will be at a very high standard because that is how UEFA makes those decisions. It's not even a consideration."
Bellingham's comments came after Dortmund lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich, with the midfielder then aged 18.
Having left Dortmund for Real Madrid, Bellingham has been integral for England at Euro 2024, scoring in their opener against Serbia before his sensational last-16 leveller against Slovakia in the last minute.
Southgate came under some scrutiny for leaving the likes of Harry Kane and Bellingham on for so long in that unconvincing victory.
With the likes of Ivan Toney, Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins waiting for a chance from the bench, Southgate once again reiterated his stance on substitutions.
"There are different reasons for making changes," he added. "We were happy with the way the team were playing in previous games but we have made a sub at half-time, it's not pre-conditioned.
"You are always looking at the freshness of the team and the balance of the team and whether changes are going to make an improvement to the team or not.
"But all of the players go into the game in good condition. The game will take us in a certain direction that will make that decision for us."
As for the threat the Netherlands pose, Southgate is preparing for anything that Oranje boss Ronald Koeman throws at him.
"Dutch teams don't tend to sit in and that's not what we've seen from them, but Ronald Koeman is an experienced coach," Southgate continued.
"We are prepared for anything, it will be an exciting game with many good players on the pitch.
"We need another step from what we showed in the last game, it's a step up in quality of opponents and we are ready for that."
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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