Rice To Pay - Arsenal Star in Hot Water with Potential Ban After Post-Match Comments
Rice Facing Potential Ban
Declan Rice is running the risk of receiving a Champions League ban with UEFA investigating some comments he made after Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
The England star was hailed by pundits for a fantastic performance in Madrid, with Viktor Gyokeres' first-half penalty being cancelled out by another from Julian Alvarez after the interval, but there is a small chance he may not be able to feature in the second leg at The Emirates on Tuesday.
But Mikel Arteta and Arsenal were left "incredibly fuming" when referee Danny Makkelie overturned his initial decision to grant another penalty to Arsenal in the late stages of the match, when Eberechi Eze was felled by David Hancko.
Having given a spot-kick, Makkelie reviewed the incident after being beckoned to the pitchside monitor and reversed the decision, leaving Gunners fans and pundits raging over what was noted as a 'clear and obvious error'.
Rice Talks His Way into Trouble
Giving an interview that touched on the incident following the match, Rice risked running the ire of UEFA by questioning Makkelie's integrity, mentioning his thoughts that the Atlético Madrid fans managed to "change the ref’s mind" through their passionate reaction to his initial decision.
He thinks he’s Xavi
— Just Chelsea (@justcfc) April 29, 2026
pic.twitter.com/SB16q6FMTi https://t.co/9L7wfpHgaA
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.”
According to The Times, ‘UEFA will assess the referee’s report before considering whether Rice’s comments questioned the officials’ integrity’.
It has not been made clear how long the process to ban Rice will take, nor whether it will effect the few remaining games in the 2025/26 calendar. Arsenal will welcome Atletico to North London on Tuesday, with the tie level at 1-1 with the winner facing either PSG or Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.
🚨 UEFA’s disciplinary body are waiting for the official referee’s report before deciding if action should be taken against Declan Rice for his post-match comments, per @sr_collings. ❌
— DailyAFC (@DailyAFC) April 30, 2026
🗣️ “I think the fans provoked the decision and changed the referee’s mind.” 🤬 pic.twitter.com/V2twVb7mDl
Familiar Territory for Rice
Rice has previous after accusing the referee of being corrupt following West Ham’s loss against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League in the May of 2022 - in that instance, it took five weeks for UEFA to hand Rice a two-match ban which saw him miss Conference League matches at the start of the following campaign.
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 stated. “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.”
Harry Pascoe 
Jake Brown 