Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Julio Vaccari clashed in the dressing room tunnel at the José Amalfitani Stadium after Vélez Sarsfield and Defensa y Justicia played out a 1-1 draw in the fifth round of the Argentine Clausura tournament.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Marca", the Vélez Sarsfield coach and his Defensa y Justicia counterpart got into an altercation both during the match and after the final whistle, with Vaccari objecting to his rival's behaviour.
Vaccari aired his grievance to the fourth official mid-match. "You are rude... he told me to shut my mouth," he said.
He then turned to the Vélez Sarsfield coaching staff. "Don't get clever with me. Don't cross the line of respect with me."
Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Julio Vaccari play down the row: "Nothing happened"
Schelotto shrugged it off afterwards. "These are just discussions, and physical scuffles that one should not get involved in because one has grown older. During the match one is focused on the result and tense, and suddenly some make mistakes with certain words. We must understand that it ends there and that's the end of it. The truth is that nothing happened beyond what usually happens in a competitive and hard-fought match that everyone wants to win."
Vaccari took the same line. "Nothing at all happened. This is what usually happens in matches. You come out and meet, and when there is congestion it seems that nothing can be explained. It is not something important and there is nothing to talk about. It is a football match and it's over."