Slovakia’s manager has blamed Declan Rice for their heated clash after the Three Lions’ 2-1 victory in the Euro 2024 Round of 16. The incident saw Francesco Calzona push the Arsenal midfielder in the chest before one of his staff members grabbed Rice by the neck.
In a fiery end to the match, which required extra-time to find a winner, Calzona was making his way towards the referee to make his frustrations clear about something that happened during the game when Rice stepped in front of the official. This is where the shove occurred, and the English midfielder then went on an angry tirade towards the opposition manager. View the incident below:
Fans were quick to speculate on the words exchanged between the pair upon seeing the scenes, but they needn’t wait any longer as a lip-reading expert has now reportedly deciphered what was said.
Lip-Reader on Declan Rice Bust-Up
The midfielder used some strong language
It was unclear what was said between the pair, but a lip-reading expert has now revealed what they believe happened. After being pushed away by the Slovakia boss, Rice is said to have used several expletives as he shouted (per the Daily Mail): “Shut up, p***y, oi, shut up, you bald ****”.
Calzona has also broken his silence on the incident. The 55-year-old told Sky Sport Italia (via Tuttomercato):
“Rice was standing close to the referees, I wanted to ask the reason for the lack of added time considering the time-wasting done by the English, he shouted at me and I replied in a similar tone.”
Despite the heated interaction, the Slovakia manager did praise the Gunners star and claimed the beef was squashed shortly after: “He is a great player, perhaps he shouldn’t have been there acting like a bodyguard for the referee. He could’ve avoided that, but he did apologise to me straight after that.”
Rice Could Be Key to England’s Success
He’s been one of the consistent performers
The defensive midfielder has been given a lot of work to do in the engine room during Euro 2024, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher struggling to perform when partnering Rice in the midfield. Kobbie Mainoo started the last game and did prove to be a bigger source of help for the Arsenal man, but the Three Lions still looked susceptible to counter-attacks.
If they are to go on to win the tournament, the contributions of Rice can’t be understated. The open nature of England’s midfield has prevented the 25-year-old from producing his best performances, but he’s stopped things from getting any worse at times as his country remain unbeaten in Germany.
Jude Bellingham is the joint-top scorer for the Three Lions in the competition with two strikes to his name, and Rice is the man who goes unnoticed in this success, as he’s the man to give his teammate the freedom to attack at will. England’s clash against Switzerland in the next round will be tough to navigate and the holding midfielder will need to be at his best if Southgate’s men are to advance.