David Moyes: ‘Not a chance’ West Ham will punish Declan Rice for ‘corrupt referee’ rant

David Moyes says West Ham won’t punish Declan Rice

David Moyes says there is “not a chance” West Ham will discipline Declan Rice for accusing referee Jesus Gil Manzano of corruption following the club’s agonising Europa League exit.

Hammers captain Rice berated the Spanish official during a foul-mouthed rant in the tunnel after Thursday evening’s semi-final elimination at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Premier League club intend to view the referee’s report before commenting on the incident, while UEFA could yet sanction the England midfielder.

But manager Moyes – who does not believe Rice’s complaints to be genuine accusations and feels nothing untoward occurred – swiftly dismissed suggestions of internal punishment.

“Not a chance – not on my watch anyway,” said the Scotsman, whose team suffered a 3-1 aggregate loss. “If UEFA punish him that’s down to them but not on my watch.

“Declan’s the captain, Declan’s fully behind the team and totally committed – like the manager, like the captain.

“We are all fighting for the same thing, which is to be winners here, and Declan is part of that.”

Rice’s remarks to Manzano were captured by American TV company Fox Sports, with footage circulating on social media.

“Ref, ref, it’s so poor, all night, it’s so bad,” said the 23-year-old. “How can you be that bad, honestly? You’ve probably been f****** paid. F****** corruption.”

West Ham had Aaron Cresswell dismissed with only 19 minutes on the clock at Deutsche Bank Park and were beaten 1-0 on the night after Rafael Borre increased the German hosts’ 2-1 first-leg lead just seven minutes later.

Full-back Cresswell, who pulled down Jens Petter Hauge as he attempted to go through on goal, was initially shown a yellow card but it