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Southampton manager Russell Martin admitted he was left stunned by the behaviour of Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler. The pair were involved in fiery Premier League encounter on Friday night, which ended in a 1-1 draw at the Amex. Kaoru Mitoma nodded the Seagulls ahead before Flynn Downes equalised for Southampton, ensuring the spoils were shared. However, the drama didn’t end there. Martin criticised Hurzeler's attempts to 'get so many players booked', with both managers clashing after the whistle, with their backroom staff separating the pair. The Saints were left furious as a controversial VAR decision, which took four and a half minutes to review, ruled out what would have been a late winner. Hurzeler was critical of the physicality shown by the Southampton players after the match when asked about his yellow card, which will see him banned from the touchline for Brighton's next game. Meanwhile, Martin voiced his disapproval of Hurzeler’s repeated attempts to get Southampton players booked during the match. Speaking to the BBC, Martin revealed: "Their manager decided to say something. I think he said something about how it was about respect in the press. "I've never seen an opposition manager try to get players booked as much as that. Respect is mutual and reciprocal, " Martin added. Extra drama had stemmed from a controversial VAR decision that disallowed a potential winner for Southampton. Initially it was ruled offside by referee Robert Jones but that decision was overturned by VAR, which deemed the striker onside. However, after a lengthy review, the goal was ruled out once more, this time for an offside infringement by Adam Armstrong, who was judged to have interfered with Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen’s ability to read the game. Reflecting on the decision, Martin said: "It is really difficult, but I find it hard to accept. I think it is [clear and obvious]. I am told it effects the goalkeeper. "We were told it effects Bart Verbruggen ability and if Adam's run moved Verbruggen from his position then I would understand the decision, but he hasn't moved. I cannot see how it has effected the goalkeeper. "This is the point with VAR, I would rather the guy make a mistake on the pitch and we go, 'no problem'. I still think it's a penalty [against Liverpool last weekend]. Me and Howard [Webb] will argue for ages about it and we have. The Premier League Match Centre confirmed on X that the disallowed goal was due to Armstrong being in an offside position which was deemed to have affected Verbruggen. Brighton’s late defensive heroics, including the disallowed goal, ensured they held onto the draw, which pushed them up to second in the Premier League. The draw leaves Southampton languishing at the bottom of the table. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited
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