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."
Guardiola 'cannot imagine' Man City's Premier League success without Ederson
Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's Premier League dominance in recent seasons would not have been possible without Ederson.
The Brazil goalkeeper's future at the Etihad Stadium is uncertain, amid speculation linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Ederson has been an integral figure for City since his arrival from Benfica in 2017, with 112 clean sheets in 250 Premier League appearances under Guardiola, while recording a save percentage of 68.17.
The 30-year-old conceded just 26 goals last season as the Citizens won an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title - and their sixth since he joined the club.
Ederson's distribution has also been crucial to City's success, notably completing 942 of his 1,097 passes last term (85.87%).
"I wish from the bottom of my heart Eddie will continue with us," Guardiola said. "I would love him to stay.
"I cannot imagine our processes succeeding these last seasons without him. He is an important figure in the locker room."
Ederson could feature for City on Saturday when they continue their pre-season tour of the United States against Paulo Fonseca's Milan at the Yankee Stadium.
Ten Hag targets further transfers as Man Utd prioritise squad depth
Erik ten Hag wants more transfer activity ahead of his third season in charge of Manchester United, saying the Red Devils must work to replicate their rivals' strength in depth.
Ten Hag signed a new contract after overseeing United's FA Cup final victory over Manchester City in May, having previously been expected to depart.
Ahead of their first full season under the Jim Ratcliffe regime, United have spent an estimated £88million to acquire forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna and centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille.
But after United suffered more injuries causing a player to miss at least one match (45) than any other Premier League team last term, Ten Hag believes more is required.
"I want the squad as strong as possible," Ten Hag told reporters at a press conference ahead of Saturday's friendly versus Arsenal.
"We already made two very good buys, so when everyone is fit we have a team that can beat everyone.
"But also in squad depth, we have to catch up. We know that because when we had injuries, we were vulnerable, and we have to avoid this.
"First, by picking up fewer injuries. And second, our squad has to be that good in depth.
"Of course, we have the quality, but in the depth we have to catch up even more, because this will be a season that is survival of the fittest.
"We proved we can beat the best team. Not just once, we did it twice. Our challenge is to do it consistently, that's what we have to work for."
Slot hopes Jones 'recovers fast' after limping off against Betis
Arne Slot says Liverpool are waiting to discover the extent of Curtis Jones' injury, after the midfielder was forced off during the Reds' 1-0 victory over Real Betis.
The Dutchman oversaw his first win since replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring the only goal in Pittsburgh.
It was the first match of the Reds' pre-season tour of the United States, though it remains to be seen how much of a part Jones will play after he limped off on the half-hour mark.
However, Slot said the decision to withdraw the midfielder was precautionary.
"I think it's too early to tell [how bad it is]," he told reporters during his post-match press conference. "Maybe he could have played on, but I think maybe you could see he was not at 100%.
"In a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour, it was best to take him off. We hope he recovers really fast, so we can see him in the next few games.
"It's always a pity if he has to go off after 25 minutes, half an hour. And before that, you could see that he was not completely free.
"It was unfortunate because he had two really good weeks during the training sessions, so I looked forward to seeing him in the game, but unfortunately he had to go off.
Trey Nyoni replaced Jones for the remainder of the game, and Slot was pleased by the 17-year-old's impact.
"The good thing about that was that we brought someone [on] that impressed me in the 45 minutes to an hour he played afterwards.
"I think [Trey] did really well today, but it was only an hour. He was one of the reasons why we scored the goal, because he turned really quickly and [played] a spot-on pass in between the lines. And he was also involved in the biggest chance in the second half.
"We are really careful with him. So he doesn't join every session, and sometimes he goes off a bit earlier. You can see his quality, but you can also see his body still needs some time to grow to play at Premier League level. But he showed some interesting things today.
I think there were a few positive things and, of course, a few things we have to improve. But the positive thing is that we kept a clean sheet. I think we only conceded one big chance and that was somewhere around the last 10 minutes of the game.
"So, we controlled the game really well and, in between, we had a few good attacks where we created a few good chances and scored a good goal."
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