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Southampton boss Russell Martin and Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler squared up to each other at the end of a bad-tempered, controversial 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium.
Both bosses accused each other of a lack of respect following a match which saw Saints denied a priceless victory by a VAR decision in the second half.
Flynn Downes had just cancelled out Kaoru Mitoma’s opener when Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser.
A check of more than four minutes eventually decided Archer was onside but then penalised Adam Armstrong, who was offside but did not touch the ball, for interfering with play.
The official explanation was that Armstrong was in an offside position and “deemed to be impacting” Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen’s ability to play the ball.
After 13 minutes of added time, during which Brighton’s Simon Adingra hit a post, both benches gave each other a piece of their mind.
The managers had also been booked during the match; Hurzeler for waving an imaginary yellow card in the first half and Martin for his reaction to more protesting from the Brighton boss after a foul by Downes, who was on a yellow card and probably lucky to still be on the pitch.
“That’s exactly what I said at half-time,” said Hurzeler. “Then he makes another foul.
“There’s no explanation, it changes the game. But you have to be very careful what you say in England. My yellow card I can’t understand.”
Pressed on his altercation with Martin after the final whistle, the German added: “For me it’s just important to have respect. It’s important to respect each other and how you talk to each other. That’s how I was educated.”
Martin was clearly unimpressed with his opposite number’s touchline antics.
“The manager decided to say something about respect,” he said. “I’ve never known a manager try to get as many players booked as that. Respect is reciprocal. It’s mutual.
“As for the decision late on, I respect how difficult the decision is for the referee and the assistant referee. It is really difficult, but I find it hard to accept.
“The on-pitch decision carries weight, and it will probably be recorded as a correct decision. But in my opinion Adam does not affect the goalkeeper, so it’s bad decision.
“I would rather the guy make a mistake on the pitch and we go ‘no problem’.”
The controversy overshadowed a fine diving header from Mitoma, which ultimately helped Brighton climb up to second, level on points, goal difference and goals scored with Manchester City.
Downes had equalised early in the second half after fine work from the impressive teenager Tyler Dibling, hammering home from the edge of the area after Armstrong had two efforts blocked.
But Saints remain bottom of the table and could find themselves seven points from safety by Saturday evening.
