Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone was not impressed with Arsenal defender Ben White as he left the field following their Champions League clash at the Metropolitano
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone and Ben White got into a heated confrontation following Arsenal's 1-1 draw in the Spanish capital. Simeone appeared to take issue with White walking across his side's crest, which is on the turf in front of the tunnel heading into the confines of the stadium.
An Atletico player first got in White's face as they started to move out of sight of the pitch before Simeone guided his charge away. The former Argentina international then appeared to slap White's back twice, leading to a fiery exchange of words after the Arsenal player did not take kindly to his adversary's approach.
Simeone then pushed White away twice as the sides looked to separate heading into the tunnel. Cooler heads may have just about prevailed.
The meeting was in stark contrast to the greeting he offered fellow countryman and Arsenal coach Gabriel Heinze. The pair embraced before going their separate ways, with Simeone receiving a frostier reception after shaking hands with Arsenal's coaching team.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta may have stayed away from bother heading off the pitch, but there was certainly a hint of anger in his demeanour. The Gunners saw a penalty overturned in the second period of the match, and they were denied an opportunity to go ahead in the tie.
Arteta declared the decision to deny a penalty for the foul on Eberechi Eze as unacceptable. Assessing the match, he said: "We did what we wanted, went ahead with the penalty. That is something we knew we would have to go through.
"In the Premier League, it is not a penalty [the handball by White], but how consistent they have been, I have to accept it.
"What I am incredibly fuming about is the penalty that is overturned on Ebz. At this level, I am sorry it is not acceptable.
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"When you have fought so hard for nine months to be in this position. It cannot happen. We put so much on it."
There was also frustration with Simeone's influence on the game, with his conflict with White unlikely to help Steve McManaman's opinion of him. Speaking following the game, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid star said: "We could see, sometimes the cameras wouldn't show it with the Spanish directors, but we could see what was going on.
"His behaviour, his number two and three with the officials was terrible. Absolutely awful. He'd change his mind, his performance was terrible that's why people don't like the dark arts (or) Atletico Madrid."