Footage Of Declan Rice Telling Referee He's 'Probably Been F**king Paid' In Explosive Tunnel Rant

Footage of Declan Rice telling referee Jesus Gil Manzano he's 'probably been f**king paid' after West Ham United's Europa League semi-final exit has emerged.

The Hammers were defeated 1-0 by Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night and they've bowed out of the tournament 3-1 on aggregate.

Aaron Cresswell was sent off 19 minutes in after hauling down Jens Petter Hauge when he was through on goal.

Manzano showed nine cards throughout the game and also sent off West Ham manager David Moyes, which saw tensions boil over at full-time.

Rice argued with Manzano as he came down the tunnel and can be heard saying: "Ref it's so poor, all night it's so bad!

"How can you be that bad? Honestly, probably been f**king paid. F**king corruption."

The 23-year-old is usually calm and composed on the pitch but seeing the opportunity of a major European final slip away clearly got to him.

Fans have reacted to the footage and they've been left shocked.

One commented: "Calling a ref s**t is one thing but accusing him of bribery and corruption is an entirely different kettle of fish."

Another said: "Wow."

While a third put: "Not a good look for such a classy player."

Rice did agree Cresswell deserved to be sent off upon reflection but his frustration with the referee's performance wasn't down to just that.

The midfielder told BT Sport: "The sending off was probably a sending off looking back at it. But some of the other decisions were poor tonight, none seemed to go for us. The referee seemed to make every decision go for them. In the end, when you’ve got someone who is against you, you can’t really do much."

West Ham beat Sevilla and Lyon to reach the semi-finals and Rice was unsure if Frankfurt actually posed a greater threat.

The England international suggested the goal they conceded inside the first 50 seconds of the first leg and Cresswell's red in the second played a massive role in the result.

Frankfurt will now face Rangers in the final later this month.

Rangers overcame RB Leipzig 3-1 in front of a bouncing Ibrox crowd meaning they advanced 3-2 on aggregate.

Featured Image Credit: Fox Sports

Topics: West Ham United, Declan Rice, Eintracht Frankfurt, Europa League

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a social editor for SPORTbible after moving from the writing team. Nearly scored past Stormzy at Old Trafford once.

@DanMarland_