West Ham star faces UEFA ban after referee fury following Europa League exit

West Ham United ace Michail Antonio could be facing a UEFA suspension following his scathing remarks about the referee after their Europa League dreams were dashed. If West Ham manage to navigate their way back into European competition, Antonio could be sidelined due to his comments.

The Hammers' valiant effort in Europe came to an end with a stroke of misfortune. It was a deflected shot that snuffed out their hopes against Bayer Leverkusen, who were recently crowned German champions for the first time. Antonio's early goal had initially set West Ham on course to become the first team to topple the Bundesliga giants this season, until Jeremie Frimpong's late strike took a wicked deflection off Aaron Cresswell and past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Despite the defeat, West Ham earned applause for their performance at full-time. However, Antonio was far from pleased with Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez's officiating and didn't hold back in his post-match interview, though his comments could have consequences.

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«I felt like I didn't get a decision all game. I felt a bit frustrated. We felt like we deserved more. Sometimes the decisions don't go your way. We move on, build on that and try to get into the Europa League next year,» Antonio said, reports the Mirror.

«It doesn't feel like you're playing against 11 men, it feels like you're playing against 13 or 14 including the two linos. You have to keep pushing and try and make the decisions go your way, but they just weren't. We had to keep playing our way and keep being professional.»

«We're very proud of ourselves —