Declan Rice is to blame for fiery exchange, claims Slovakia boss Francesco Calzona – and was ‘acting like a bodyguard’ after England’s Euro 2024 last-16 clash

Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona blamed Declan Rice for their spat on Sunday, adding fuel to the fire.

Calzona shoved Rice in the chest as the England stars held back their team-mate in a heated brawl after England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia at Euro 2024.

Slovakia’s coach stormed onto the pitch to confront referee Umut Meler about the Three Lions’ time-wasting, prompting Rice to attempt to intervene.

A lip-reading expert exclusively told Mail Sport that Rice said ‘shut up you bastard, oi, shut up you bald ****’ – and now the manager has hit back.

‘Rice was standing close to the referees, I wanted to ask the reason for the lack of extra time given the time wasting of the English, he shouted at me and I replied in a similar tone,’ he said Sky Sport Italia via Tutto Mercato.

He claimed that Rice was acting as a ‘bodyguard’ for the referee, who he wanted to speak to

Calzona and his staff stormed onto the pitch after England’s win over Slovakia to speak to the referee

‘He’s a great player, maybe he shouldn’t have been there as a bodyguard for the referee.

‘He could have prevented that, but he immediately apologized afterwards.’

The Three Lions needed a very late game to save their chances of Euro 2024 against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen.

After Ivan Schranz had given the small country the lead in the 25th minute, it took until the 95th minute for Jude Bellingham to equalise with a sublime scissor move. Some English fans had already left and hope was gone.

Harry Kane headed home a goal almost straight into extra time and England held on to reach the last eight of their fourth successive major tournament.

Calzona stormed onto the field to confront referee Meler about time-wasting, but Rice tried to intervene and talk to him.

When he did so, the Slovakian coach reacted aggressively, pushing the Arsenal midfielder on the chest, while another member of his coaching staff also pushed the England star away.

Rice, who apparently told Calzona not to speak to the stewards, was furious about the incident and had to be restrained by teammates Ivan Toney, Aaron Ramsdale and Ezri Konsa in an attempt to defuse the situation.

Rice said ‘shut up, p***y, oi, shut up, you bald ****’, a lip-reading expert told Mail Sport

The England midfielder was pushed by another member of the Slovakian coaching staff during the fight

Rice had to be withdrawn by England teammates as they tried to defuse the situation

“Rice should have gone to the referees and left,” Calzona said immediately afterwards.

“I had to speak to the referees and he didn’t leave, he carried on. But then he apologised and everything was fine again. I didn’t like the England team wasting time and not getting punished.”

Tensions were already running high before the match, as Rice fiercely attacked a number of Slovakian players during his press conference.

The England star, who did not comment on the scuffle, said: ‘There is an inner struggle and spirit within us [that] some slovak players said before the game that we didn’t have it. We have that solidarity, we proved it tonight.

“We would do anything to protect this manager and each other.

“We’re going to keep going and keep fighting and what we showed as a group tonight is on display there. It’s an honor to be a part of it and we’re going to give it our all.”

Calzona is proud of what his team achieved, despite failing to beat England at the seventh attempt.

Calzona was furious with England’s time-wasting during extra time, which secured them the win

“Overall I am satisfied, even though I have regrets because we were close to making history for this country,” he said.

‘We were a minute and a half behind… but I’m proud of the lads. We kept England in their half of the pitch for 29 minutes of extra time and that’s a source of pride.’