Revealed: What Declan Rice said to Slovakia manager Francesco Calzona (2024)

By Jeorge Bird and Arthur Parashar 15:30 EDT 30 Jun 2024, updated 05:01 EDT 01 Jul 2024

• LISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: Why has Jude Bellingham had a cheap shot at the fans?
• England star Declan Rice clashed with Slovakia's Francesco Calzona at full-time
• The incident came shortly after England's dramatic 2-1 comeback in the last-16

Fresh details have emerged of what was said during a fiery exchange between England midfielder Declan Rice and Slovakia manager Francesco Calzona at the end of last night's Euro 2024 last-16 clash.

The Three Lions came from behind in dramatic fashion to secure their place in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win in extra-time.

But as jubilant England players and fans celebrated at full-time, ex-Napoli boss Calzona stormed onto the pitch to confront Turkish refereeUmut Meler about the Three Lions' time-wasting.

When Rice tried to intervene and speak to him, the Slovakia boss reacted aggressively by shoving the Arsenal midfielder in the chest. Another member of his coaching staff could also be seen pushing the England star away.

Rice, who was seemingly telling Calzona not to bother speaking to the match officials, was left livid by the incident and had to be held back by team-matesIvan Toney, Aaron Ramsdale and Ezri Konsa as they tried to defuse the situation.

Expert lipreader Jeremy Freeman told Mail Sport that during the altercation, a furious Rice said: 'Shut up, p***y, oi, shut up, you bald ****.'

Calzona later revealed that he wanted to speak to the officials at full-time to complain about their failure to punish England's time-wasting tactics during extra time.

'Rice was supposed to go to the referees and leave,' Calzona said. '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.'

Declan Rice in an altercation with Slovakia manager 👀#Euro2024 | #ENGSVK pic.twitter.com/FjJIuj5WUk

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Slovakia were just seconds away from a historic victory before Jude Bellingham cancelled out Ivan Schranz's first-half strike with a stunning acrobatic equaliser in the 95th minute which forced extra-time.

Tens of thousands of England fans in Germany and millions more at home then erupted when Three Lions captain Harry Kane headed home the winning goal just 51 seconds into extra time.

Kane's goal gave England the opportunity to wind down the clock to secure their place in the quarter-finals.

Tensions were already high before the game, with Rice hitting out at some of the Slovakia players in his press conference.

The England star, who did not address the altercation, said: 'There's that inner fight and spirit in us [that] a few Slovakian players before the game said that we didn't have. We've got that togetherness, we proved that tonight.

'We'd do anything to protect this manager, protect each other.

'We'll keep going and keep fighting and what we've got as a group tonight showed out there. It's an honour to be a part of it and we're going to give it everything.'

Bellingham had also riled up the Slovaks by saying he didn't know who the Three Lions were playing against in the lead up to the game.

After a gruelling 120 minutes of football,Calzona was left incensed by Slovakia's late capitulation and vented his frustrations further during his post-match press conference.

'The disappointment is huge,' Calzona added. 'ButI feel more pride than disappointment. We almost won and advanced against the world-class team. We tried very hard, we almost advanced. We failed to advance.

'In extra time, we spent half an hour in the opponent's half. I'm proud that we managed it this way and did such a great job.'

Calzona said that he told his players in the dressing room: 'You have done a great job, you are fantastic.'

He continued: 'What else could I tell them? We played balanced games with everyone, we had chances, we scored goals. The statistics also confirm this.

'Everyone is very disappointed because we were almost in the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, the dream has faded, but we have to accept it.'

There was further controversy at the full-time whistle after Bellingham appeared to make an obscene gesture towards the Slovakian dugout - before later clarifying that it was 'an inside joke with friends'.

A viral social media post showed Bellingham walking alongside England captain Kane, beforeputting his hand to his mouth, then moving it towards his groin and making a series of movements.

Bellingham, however, was quick to refute claims it was aimed at the bench and clarified the situation, as he wrote on X:'An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game.

'Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.'

The 21-year-old laterseemingly took aim at England's critics by sharing a famous quote of Theodore Roosevelt on his Instagram page on Sunday.

It read: 'It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

Many of England's performances at Euro 2024 so far have been underwhelming but they are through to the quarter-finals, where they take on Switzerland on Saturday.

🥱❌- An inside joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game. Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.🤝🏽 https://t.co/H8sETMkPoi

— Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) June 30, 2024

England boss Gareth Southgate joked that Ivan Toney was 'disgusted' with his decision to bring him on in the 94th minute against Slovakia.

Toney made an impact following his introduction as England managed to secure victory.

After the game, Southgate said:'There's no question that Ivan Toney was pretty disgusted when I put him on with a minute to go.

'I think we've made up now! He had a big impact, with the second goal as well. I think if you put a sub on at that time, it's a last throw of the dice. He maybe doesn't even touch the ball.

'I completely understand it. I don't like putting a player in that position, but I just had a feeling that he might have been able to cause a bit of chaos.'