Declan Rice banned for two games after accusing referee of ‘corruption’ in Europa League outburst

Declan Rice has been given a two-game ban by UEFA after accusing a referee of “corruption” following West Ham’s defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League semi-final.

In a foul-mouthed rant, the England midfielder directed his anger towards official Jesus Gil Manzano in the tunnel after the second leg.

A video posted online after the incident shows Rice saying: “Ref, ref. It’s so poor. All night it’s so bad. How can you be that bad? Honestly, you’ve probably been f****** paid. F****** corruption.”

A 1-0 defeat in Germany saw the London club crash out of the competition 3-1 on aggregate, while their hosts went on to win the competition.

Defender Aaron Cresswell was sent off in the match, while manager David Moyes was also shown a red card – for which he has received a one-match ban.

Speaking after the match, Moyes said the club would not punish Rice for his outburst, saying: “If UEFA punish him that’s down to them, but not on my watch.”

Rice will now miss both legs of his team’s Europa Conference League play-off, with their opponents to be revealed in the draw at the start of August.

As well as individual punishment for Rice and Moyes, the club have been fined £1,500 after their fans used fireworks at the game in Germany.

Meanwhile, Frankfurt have received a far heavier financial penalty, with six offences related to their supporters leading to a £69,000 fine. As well as that, the German side have a two-year suspended penalty to play one game behind closed doors.