Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi confronted Cristian Stellini before his side's clash with Tottenham had even kicked off.
De Zerbi has impressed since replacing Graham Potter at the Seagulls in September, guiding them towards the European qualification places. The job he has done at the AMEX has attracted the interest of several top teams, including Spurs.
They are looking for a new boss after the departure of Antonio Conte a fortnight ago. Stellini has been put in charge for the rest of the campaign, with De Zerbi thought to be a leading candidate to take over permanently in the summer.
But it appears that De Zerbi is not keen to make friends at his potential suitors as he took his Brighton side to Tottenham on Sunday. Before the game kicked off, Stellini approached the Seagulls boss for the traditional pre-match handshake.
De Zerbi however chastised the Spurs interim manager as they shook hands, with Stellini looking perplexed. The duo broke apart, with Stellini tapping De Zerbi on the back, though the latter continued to chatter.
De Zerbi then turned back towards Stellini as he returned to his technical area, with his finger raised. Stellini fired back, raising his hand with his palm turned towards the sky as he hit out at the Brighton boss.
De Zerbi closed the space between the warring duo, putting his finger directly under Stellini's head. He then pointed several times as Stellini continued to respond, before pointing back to himself.
The Brighton manager then raised his finger a final time before returing to his seat. Before he reached his seat though, he turned around and fired a parting shot towards Stellini, who had moved out of shot of the camera.
It's understood that comments from the Spurs boss about his opposite number benefitting from the work of his predecessor, Graham Potter, are understood to have drawn the ire of the Seagulls boss.
Son Heung-min put Tottenham ahead with a stunning goal, before Lewis Dunk equalised, with De Zerbi running to celebrate right in front of Stellini. The bizarre exchange between Stellini and De Zerbi comes after the Spurs boss hailed his opposite number ahead of Saturday's game.
"I hope for him. When he was a player, he was aggressive. I challenged him sometimes and he was really aggressive. He improved a lot. He has a great personality like a manager," Stellini said.
"He arrived here in a new country and quickly he put his sign on his team. That is not easy for everyone and De Zerbi show also in England, in the Premier League he is a great manager.
"For sure his results were every time good results. He gave to his team good characteristics. He's very strong in the way he wants to play."
