“I had never seen it”: Southampton coach surprised by the actions of Brighton's rival

Southampton manager Russell Martin has admitted he was stunned by the behavior of Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler.

The pair were involved in a gripping Premier League encounter on Friday night, which ended in a 1-1 draw at the Amex.

Kaoru Mitoma headed in for the Seagulls before Flynn Downes equalized for Southampton, ensuring the spoils were shared. However, the drama did not end there.

Martin criticized Hurzeler attempts to “warn as many players”, with both coaches clashing after the whistle, with their backroom staff separating the two.

Saints were left furious when a controversial VAR decision, which took four and a half minutes to review, ruled out what would have been a late winner.

Hurzeler criticized the physicality shown by the Southampton players after the match when asked about his yellow card, which will prevent him from playing on the touchline for Brighton's next match.

Meanwhile, Martin expressed his disapproval of Hurzeler's repeated attempts to caution the Southampton players during the match.

Speaking to the BBC, Martin revealed: “His manager decided to say something. I think he said something about how respect was treated in the press.

“I have never seen a rival coach try to warn players so much. The respect is mutual and reciprocal,” Martin added.

Additional drama arose from a controversial VAR decision which overturned a potential winner for Southampton.

Initially referee Robert Jones declared offside, but that decision was overturned by the VAR, which considered the forward onside.

However, after a lengthy review, the goal was disallowed once again, this time for an offside infringement by Adam Armstrong, who was deemed to have interfered with Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen's ability to read the game.

Reflecting on the decision, Martín said: “It's really difficult, but it's hard for me to accept. I think it is (clear and obvious). I've been told it affects the goalkeeper.

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“We were told it affects Bart Verbruggen's ability and if Adam's run moved Verbruggen from his position then I would understand the decision, but he hasn't moved. I don't see how it has affected the goalkeeper.

“This is the point with VAR, I'd rather the guy made a mistake on the pitch and said 'no problem'. I still think it's a penalty (against Liverpool last weekend). Howard (Webb) and I We will defend this for years and we have done so.

The Premier League Match Center confirmed in 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 maintained a draw, moving them up to second place in the Premier League.

The draw leaves Southampton languishing at the bottom of the table.