Declan Rice accused Europa League referee of corruption in X-rated tunnel confrontation

Declan Rice could face retrospective punishment from UEFA after accusing referee Jesus Gil of corruption as West Ham suffered Europa League heartache at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Trailing 2-1 from the semi-final first leg at the London Stadium, the Hammers knew only a win would suffice in Germany to reach the Europa League final in Seville later this month. But what was already a daunting task became an insurmountable one when Aaron Cresswell was shown a red card after just 19 minutes.

Frankfurt quickly made their numerical advantage pay when Rafael Borre gave the hosts a 1-0 lead on the night and a 3-1 aggregate advantage over the tie. David Moyes’s side pushed for a way back into the contest but were left frustrated, with the Hammers manager also shown a red card in the closing stages.

The visitors were clearly angry with the Spanish official after several decisions went against them, with Frankfurt ultimately booking a place in the final against Rangers. And while Rice offered a somewhat diplomatic verdict on the officials in his media commitments, his stance was very different in the tunnel.

In footage obtained by Fox Sports Mexico, the Hammers midfielder can be seen calling the referee over before shouting: “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.”

UEFA are waiting on the referee's match report before deciding whether to take any action against Rice.

Speaking following the game, Rice admitted that the decision to dismiss Cresswell was probably correct, but bemoaned the ref’s overall performance and claimed he was “against them”.

“The sending off was probably a sending off but some of the other decisions were poor