Mikel Arteta was accused of “disrespecting” the family of Porto manager Sergio Conceicao amid angry scenes at the end of Arsenal’s Champions League victory.
The two managers were seen exchanging words after the penalty shoot-out, which Arteta’s side won 4-2 after the last 16 tie had ended 1-1 on aggregate.
The bad blood spilled over into the post-match media conference, when Conceicao claimed that Arteta had used insulting language about his family.
He said: “During the game and towards the bench … I don’t know if this is to do with Spanish managers, he insulted my family.
“And then at the end, I said, who he insults is not between us. He should focus on training his team because they have a lot of individual qualities to do that.”
When Arteta was asked about his confrontation after the game with Conceicao in his own press conference, he replied simply: “No comment.”
Arsenal officials later insisted that Conceicao was mistaken in thinking Arteta had insulted his family.
The two managers, who were both booked during the game, had also clashed after the first leg of the tie in Portugal.
Arteta had been critical of Porto’s style of football, saying they had set up in a “low defensive block” and “had no intention of playing”. Conceicao later hit back by saying: “It’s an opinion. They wanted to play, we wanted to win.”
Conceicao has previously had run-ins with Pep Guardiola, who he accused of having “an extremely unpleasant attitude” and of using “ugly words” about Portugal after a Champions League game against Manchester City in 2020.
“I’ve got a lot to learn from Pep Guardiola, in the way he pressures referees, talks to opposition players and the opposition dugout,” he said at the time.
Conceicao also accused the then Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel of “insulting” him after another Champions League tie in 2021.
Arsenal find out their quarter-final opponents when the draw is made on Friday.
(Top photo: TNT Sports)
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