Beckham laughs off Scaloni spat

David Beckham made light of the last-minute bust-up with Argentinian midfielder Lionel Scaloni which marred Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat of Deportivo La Coruna last night.

Beckham and Scaloni became embroiled in a tussle after Beckham brought down the Depor man from behind, with Roberto Carlos having to jump in and calm the pair down.

The referee eventually showed both a yellow card, although Scaloni still refused to shake Beckham’s hand as the bad feeling continued.

“Scaloni didn’t want to shake hands with me, and I don’t know why. That’s another Argentinian who doesn’t like me,” said Beckham, referring to previous spats with Diego Simeone and Aldo Duscher.

Scaloni, whose side now trail leaders Madrid by six points, had a vastly different view of the incident and accused Beckham of lacking respect.

“It was a quiet game, and nothing had happened,” he said.

“I don’t need to talk to Beckham. Why would I want to?

“I didn’t shake hands with him because he was touching his genitals in a disrespectful way.

“We had a legal goal disallowed, and they won the match. But that sort of thing always happens here.”