Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hits back at Sergio Conceicao over touchline argument
Pep Guardiola has defended his touchline behaviour after being accused of being "unpleasant" and using "ugly words" by Porto manager Sergio Conceicao.
Tensions between the two managers and their backroom staff ran high on Wednesday night as City made a winning start to their Champions League campaign.
Conceicao, his staff and players were unhappy with the performance of referee Andris Treimanis, who awarded City a first-half penalty.
The Porto manager later said he could learn from the way Guardiola "pressures referees" and said that his counterparts attitude was "extremely unpleasant".
Guardiola disputed that version of events on Friday, while speaking at his pre-match press conference before City's Premier League trip to West Ham United.
"Well we didn't want it, to be unpleasant," he said. "[Conceicao] believes we are. Maybe he's right. I don't think so. Honestly, I don't think so.
"I'm pleased with how we behaved from minute one to minute 90 but if he believes this OK, maybe he's right. We will see."
Conceicao said after Wednesday's Group C opener: "[Guardiola] spoke about our country using ugly words. Guardiola's attitude was extremely unpleasant.
“The whole Manchester City dugout was because if anybody should have been complaining, it was the Porto bench, because we were extremely hard done by.
“I have to apologise to the referees in Portugal, because I complain when I think we are wronged, but comparing the officials of this game and those upstairs in the VAR, international referees have a lot to learn from ours in Portugal."
Guardiola and Conceicao will meet again when City travel to face Porto at the Stadio do Dragao in their penultimate Group C fixture on 1 December.
