Torres sent off for shoving ex-Liverpool teammate Alvaro Arbeloa on touchline

14 May 2023 , 22:33

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Alvaro Arbeloa gets in the face of former Liverpool team-mate Fernando Torres (Image: Twitter)

Former Liverpool duo Fernando Torres and Alvaro Arbeloa came to blows on the touchline on Sunday when Atletico Madrid's youth side met their Real Madrid counterparts.

Ex-Reds superstar Torres has been at the helm of Atletico Madrid’s ‘Juvenil’ side for just under two years, which is the under-19's team, while Arbeloa is in the same role for Los Blancos. The two outfits faced off for a Madrid derby in the youth Champions Cup quarter-finals and tempers got the better of the ex-Anfield duo in their technical areas.

It is believed that the ill-feeling started over the fact that while Real Madrid forward Yeray lay injured on the pitch, Torres' Atletico side did not kick the ball out so he could receive treatment.

Videos of the former Reds team-mates arguing on the side of the pitch have since circulated all over twitter as the pair exchanged verbals in full view of Arbeloa's coaching staff.

Things were ramped up a notch when the Real Madrid coach seemed to get in the face of Torres, who proceeded shove Arbeloa under the nose of officials before walking off. As per Spanish outlet Relevo Torres is alleged to have said: “I’ll blow your head off” before Arbeloa replied: “Start whenever you want.”

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The altercation actually delayed play resuming, with Atletico preparing to kick-off but bickering between the two benches forced the referee to intervene. Arbeloa was shown a yellow card, while Torres saw red as his afternoon ended prematurely.

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Fernando Torres and Alvaro Arbeloa played alongside each other many times at Liverpool

Atletico's substitutes also ended up on the pitch, which meant more yellow cards were dished out. The clash ended 2-2, which was enough for Real Madrid to progress via 4-2 aggregate win.

Though it was Torres who was sent off, Arbeloa has a history of letting his temper get the better of him. Liverpool fans will remember the ex-defender once shoved team-mate Jamie Carragher on the pitch during a fiery exchange at West Brom in 2009.

However, one would expect Torres and Arbeloa to be much closer and on much better tems given just how often they lined up alongside each other for both club and country.

Across appearances for Liverpool and the Spain national team, Torres and Arbeloa featured on the same side 94 times and lost just 10 of those fixtures.

All of that seemed a distant memory now the pair of them are in charge of the Madrid rivals. While Torres was the one who is claimed to have threatened the ex-Red star, videos would suggest Arbeloa is the aggressor in this sorry debacle.

Josh O'Brien