Arsenal defender Ben White was involved in a bust-up with Diego Simeone following the 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid.
The Gunners and Atletico could not be separated in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night, with Julian Alvarez’s penalty shortly after half-time cancelling out Viktor Gyokeres’ own effort from 12 yards.
The result means it is all to play for at the Emirates Stadium next week as both sides know victory will be enough to progress to the Champions League final.
Ahead of the game in north London, it would appear there won’t be any love lost between White and Simeone following events at the end of the first leg as a bust-up between the pair has gone viral on social media.
In a video clip uploaded to X, as White heads towards the tunnel area, he walks on the Atletico Madrid club crest and is immediately confronted by Giuliano Simeone, son of Diego.
BEN WHITE STEPS ON ATLETI CREST AND SIMEONE REACTS 🚨🚨
— MARCA in English 🇺🇸 (@MARCAinENGLISH) April 29, 2026
On his way to the tunnel, the Arsenal defender accidentally stepped on the club’s badge, and Simeone immediately called him out 🗣️
Was it disrespectful or just a mistake? 🤔#BenWhite #AtleticoMadrid #Arsenal #UCL pic.twitter.com/9lzBQpGIkZ
At first, the Atletico boss does seem to play peacemaker as he drags his son away from White before aggressively tapping the Arsenal defender on the back twice.
White, understandably, did not take a liking to Simeone’s actions and the pair got into a heated confrontation which lead to a fiery exchange of words before members of both squad got involved to diffuse the situation.
White was also involved in the controversy surrounding the awarding of Atletico's penalty, which Alvarez converted past a stationary David Raya.
A shot bounced off his shin and onto his arm and while, referee Danny Makkelie did not initially give that as a penalty, he did so after a VAR review.
"It is the rule and they have been quite consistent with that," Arteta said of White being penalised.
"On that one, if you're going to give a penalty for this kind of thing you have to accept that. I have nothing to say with that.
"But the one that changes completely everything, it's a penalty on Ebs. That cannot happen at this level."
