List of Matches Declan Rice Could Miss After Champions League BAN

English giants Arsenal are potentially on the verge of losing one of their key players ahead of the upcoming important second leg clash in the UEFA Champions League semifinals against Atletico Madrid. The Gunners midfielder might have landed himself in hot water with European football's apex body, UEFA, following his post-match comments on refereeing decisions during the first leg.

The game in question has come under immense scrutiny, especially among Arsenal fans, who felt the decisions were in favor of Simeone and his men rather than Mikel Arteta's squad. During the game, referee Danny Makkelie had pointed to the spot on three occasions, the first led to Arsenal winning a penalty for David Hancko’s foul on Viktor Gyokeres, while another was awarded to Atleti after Arsenal defender Ben White handled the ball in his own box.

The controversial moment in the game happened when the Gunners had secured a penalty after Eberechi Eze was fouled in the box, but the referee changed his decision after VAR's intervention.

Declan Rice Calls Out Biased Refereeing During The Game

Following the 90 minutes of action, the Englishman was visibly frustrated with some of the decisions in the game, especially the Eberechi Eze penalty decision. The former West Ham man claimed that home supporters inside the Riyadh Air Metropolitano had convinced the official to reverse his original call from a stone-wall penalty. Talking about the incident, Rice was quoted as saying:

Is Declan Rice In Trouble Ahead of The Second Leg?

However, his comments could potentially rule him out for the next leg. An article in The Times states that UEFA might be taking a closer look at the referee’s report before determining whether Rice’s outburst questioned the official’s integrity.

While the club and its adoring fans will be waiting to see how long that process will take, the possibility of a ban cannot be ruled out. The English international was previously banned for two games during his time with West Ham, after he accused a referee of being corrupt; however, Arsenal fans will be relieved that the disciplinary process took around five weeks.

It will be interesting to see how things play out and whether Rice is subjected to sitting out for the home leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals on May 6 or maybe two to three games in next season's competition.