Roberto De Zerbi insists he doesn't like other managers 'touching his players' after a heated row with Thomas Frank on Friday night.
The two managers came to blows during the first half of Brentford's home win against Premier League rivals Brighton. The Bees defeated the Seagulls 2-0 in London thanks to a brilliant brace from Ivan Toney, who is targeting a spot in England's World Cup squad.
Brighton manager De Zerbi squared up to Frank after the Brentford boss tried to stop Joel Veltman from collecting the ball for a throw in. Frank and Veltman were seen pushing one another before De Zerbi came across to confront his opposite number.
The Bees boss stood his ground as the two managers clashed before players and other coaches got involved to quash the touchline spat. Both Frank and De Zerbi were booked by referee Michael Salisbury for the row and forced to shake hands afterwards.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, De Zerbi claimed: "I don't like when the coach touches my player or when the other coach speaks with my player because I never speak with the players from the other team, but this isn't a problem."
De Zerbi was appointed by Brighton last month to succeed Graham Potter after the Englishman was snapped up by Chelsea. The Italian arrived in England with a fine reputation after impressing at Foggia, Benevento, Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk.
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De Zerbi has endured a tough start to life at the Amex, picking up just a point from his first three Premier League fixtures. That was a commendable 3-3 draw against Liverpool at Anfield, however, while the other game was a tricky home clash against Tottenham.
On his team's performance, De Zerbi added: "I think to win the games you have to score. We had 21 shots but we have not found the goals. We lost too many second balls. I think we played a good game but if you want to win you have to score. This is football. I can't say anything more. We have had a lot of chances but we haven't found the goal.
"The last pass, we made mistakes. From tomorrow we have to think about Nottingham Forest. We have to know maybe this is our problem for the moment because against Tottenham was the same, we had a lot of shots but we didn't score."
Toney secured the win thanks to a cheeky flick into the net before half-time and a cool penalty after it. On the latter, De Zerbi said: "It was a crucial moment but I believed until the end because one goal and the game could be open again."
On Toney's performance, Frank added: "It [his first goal] shows what he is capable of. He needs fantastic anticipation of the situation and technique. I'm glad I said very early he is the best penalty taker in the world. I'm very happy for it. He's backing me up.
"The record looks past that I see coolness, technique and strategy... He is [in my World Cup squad]. Gareth [Southgate] sees the big picture. It's up to him to choose, but he has something special not many have."
