Declan Rice faces a three-match European suspension after video from the tunnel showed the West Ham United midfielder berating the referee during Thursday’s Europa League semi-final loss to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Rice was seen appealing for the attention of Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano from within the tunnel area, before telling him, “It’s really poor.” It’s been awful all night. How could you be so bad? Honestly. Most likely f——— paid. “F——— bribery.”
Before deciding whether to take action against the England midfielder, Uefa’s disciplinary authority will review the match reports. If a player is determined to have insulted a match official, he faces a three-match punishment under Uefa rules.
The referee showed both left-back Aaron Cresswell and manager David Moye’s red cards as West Ham’s European odyssey came to an end with a 1-0 loss in Germany.
Declan Rice expressed his displeasure with the officials in a post-match interview with BT Sport, saying that “every decision” favored Frankfurt.
“The sending off was undoubtedly a sending off,” Rice remarked, “but some of the other decisions tonight were awful.” “The referee seemed to favor them in every decision.” You can’t do much while someone is working against you.”
Rice’s outburst was utterly out of character for a player who has grown into one of the most popular figures in English football, thanks in large part to his personable and honest demeanor.
“The club is aware of the footage circulating on social media but will not comment more until the referee’s report from the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg versus Eintracht Frankfurt is evaluated,” a club representative stated.
Moyes apologized for kicking the ball towards a ball-boy during the second half but said it was left “nicely on the volley” for him to strike on a tense night in Germany.
“I have to apologize for kicking the ball at the ball-boy,” Moyes stated after receiving a red card for the incident. “He cut it short; it was on the volley well for me, but I apologize.”
“I don’t think I hit him; I just twisted it past him.” When he had the option of throwing the ball to me, he opted to leave it short. As I have stated, I apologize. But we were attempting to win a big game tonight.”
West Ham remains in contention for a European berth next season, sitting seventh in the Premier League ahead of their trip to Norwich City on Sunday.
