Rice faces Champions League ban as UEFA launch probe after Arsenal vs Atletico | OneFootball

Declan Rice is at risk of a Champions League ban as UEFA investigate his comments following Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Rice was hailed by Steven Gerrard for his “immense” display as Viktor Gyokeres’ first-half penalty was cancelled out by Julian Alvarez from the spot in the second half.

But Mikel Arteta was left “incredibly fuming” when Danny Makkelie overturned his on-field decision to award another penalty to Arsenal when Eberechi Eze went down in the box under the challenge of David Hancko late on.

Makkelie reviewed the incident on a pitchside monitor and went against his initial decision to leave Gunners fans and pundits furious over what he evidently deemed to be a ‘clear and obvious error’.

Giving his thoughts on the incident after the game, Rice risked UEFA punishment by questioning the integrity of Makkelie through suggesting the Atlético Madrid fans managed to “change the ref’s mind” through their raucous reaction.

Rice said: “I think the fans provoked the decision and changed the ref’s mind. Uefa is totally different [to the Premier League]. In both boxes, you have to be so careful because they give absolutely everything.”

, ‘UEFA will assess the referee’s report before considering whether Rice’s comments questioned the officials’ integrity’.

It’s not clear how long that process will take and whether it could affect this season’s competition as Arsenal prepare to welcome Atletico to the Emirates on Tuesday.

Rice has been here before

Rice has previous after accusing the referee of being corrupt following West Ham’s defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League in May 2022; on that occasion it took five weeks for UEFA to hand down a two-match ban which saw him miss Conference League clashes at the start of the following season.

The England international was less aggrieved by the penalty that was awarded to Atletico Madrid when Marcos Llorente’s wayward shot struck Ben White’s arm via a deflection off his leg.

“At first glance I thought if that’s in the Premier League it doesn’t get given because it’s so low to the ground,” Rice added. “The ball’s not going on target. In the Champions League, referees are really quick to make decisions, and to blow their whistle, and you can’t do much about it. I feel like they penalise you more in European competitions. But it doesn’t matter. We move on to next week and we want to beat them.”