Frank McAvennie blasts Declan Rice for referee outburst after West Ham loss v Frankfurt
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Frank McAvennie has blasted West Ham star Declan Rice after his outburst in the tunnel at the referee following the club’s Europa League exit.
Rice was captured on camera blasting the referee after the game, calling him ‘poor’ and accusing him of ‘corruption’ after what he judged to be several poor decisions.
But McAvennie says the 23-year-old must learn from this game and not make that mistake again in the future, advising him to bite his tongue in future situations.
“Well the bottom line is Declan is a young boy, he’ll learn off it,” he said to West Ham Zone.
“Whether it’s at West Ham or elsewhere he’s going to be in a lot of European ties.
“He’s got to learn that, it’s more or less the first time we’ve seen him like that. It is what it is.
“They had a few chances at the London Stadium and it just didn’t go in. Bowen hit the [bar], it just didn’t go in. They should’ve finished it off there maybe and it would’ve been a different game.
“You can’t do it, no matter how good a player you are. No matter what you feel.
“For me on big European nights you’ve got to just bite your tongue, you can’t do that.
“The referee gave us it all all night, I don’t really understand that stuff. You’ve just got to learn. You’re not going to get anything, it’s just one of those things unfortunately.”
McAvennie is spot on, with Rice already apologising for his comments and looking set to pick up a three game ban for his troubles.
But poor decisions are generally part of the game and something that he has to deal with better in the future, especially considering his talent level.
He’s young and will surely learn, but he certainly deserves to be punished for what he did.
In other West Ham news, West Ham ace set for three-game ban after what he did after loss v Frankfurt
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