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Declan Rice is at risk of a Champions League ban as UEFA investigate his comments following Arsenal\u2019s 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Rice was hailed by Steven Gerrard for his \u201cimmense\u201d display<\/strong> as Viktor Gyokeres\u2019 first-half penalty was cancelled out by Julian Alvarez from the spot in the second half.<\/p>\n But Mikel Arteta was left \u201cincredibly fuming\u201d 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.<\/p>\n READ MORE: VAR and its foundational lie exposed yet again as Arsenal pay penalty in Madrid<\/strong><\/p>\n 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 \u2018clear and obvious error\u2019.<\/p>\n Giving his thoughts on the incident after the game, Rice risked UEFA punishment by questioning the integrity of Makkelie through suggesting the Atl\u00e9tico Madrid fans managed to \u201cchange the ref\u2019s mind\u201d through their raucous reaction.<\/p>\n Rice said: \u201cI think the fans provoked the decision and changed the ref\u2019s mind. Uefa is totally different (to the Premier League). In both boxes, you have to be so careful because they give absolutely everything.\u201d<\/p>\n According to The Times<\/em><\/strong>\u2018UEFA will assess the referee\u2019s report before considering whether Rice\u2019s comments questioned the officials\u2019 integrity\u2019.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear how long that process will take and whether it could affect this season\u2019s competition as Arsenal prepare to welcome Atletico to the Emirates on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Rice has previous after accusing the referee of being corrupt following West Ham\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n The England international was less aggrieved by the penalty that was awarded to Atletico Madrid when Marcos Llorente\u2019s wayward shot struck Ben White\u2019s arm via a deflection off his leg.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first glance I thought if that\u2019s in the Premier League it doesn\u2019t get given because it\u2019s so low to the ground,\u201d Rice added. \u201cThe ball\u2019s not going on target. In the Champions League, referees are really quick to make decisions, and to blow their whistle, and you can\u2019t do much about it. I feel like they penalise you more in European competitions. But it doesn\u2019t matter. We move on to next week and we want to beat them.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/div>\nRice has been here before<\/h2>\n