Slovakia manager confirms Declan Rice apology after Euro clash

Rice was shoved in the chest by Calzona and both men were then involved in a fiery exchange.

Arsenal manager Francesco Calzona has revealed that Declan Rice has apologised to him following their heated exchange after England’s extra-time win at Euro 2024 on Sunday.

The Arsenal star played the full 120 minutes in the round-of-16 clash against Slovakia. They came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Slovakia. Jude Bellingham’s dramatic 95th-minute equaliser followed by Harry Kane’s header just 52 seconds into extra time did a full job.

Rice was shoved in the chest by Calzona and both men were then involved in a fiery exchange in front of the match officials. According to lipreader Jeremy Freeman, via the Daily Mail, Rice told Calzona to ‘Shut up, p***y, oi, shut up, you bald c***.’

Calzona has revealed that the Arsenal midfielder has apologised, and the Italian stated that he initially wished to confront the officials at full-time to complain about England’s time-wasting tactics.

Calzona told reporters, “Rice was supposed to go to the referees and leave. I had to speak to the refs and he wasn’t leaving, he carried on. But then he apologised and it was all fine. I didn’t like the way the England team were wasting time and not punished.”

Calzona later insisted that he was proud of the performance of his Slovakian side, adding: “I have no bad words to say because we played a great game against an opponent that is a candidate to win it all.

“My team showed a lot, we were really good, we conceded very little and we came within a step of qualification. Too bad.

“It’s a pride to see a team like ours put in a performance like that. I can only say that for me it is a great pride to coach such a team.

“Fantastic group, a unique commitment and attitude. I was lucky enough to meet these guys and they gave me enormous satisfaction.”

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