Newcastle United stars Jamaal Lascelles and Matt Ritchie were involved in a huge training ground bust-up ahead of their trip to Chelsea at the weekend, the Daily Mail reports.
It is reported that the pair had to be dragged apart by fellow team-mates after a dressing room argument at their training ground saw Newcastle captain Lascelles physically confront Ritchie.
It is believed that Ritchie had become unhappy with Lascelles’ criticism over manager Rafa Benitez’s decision to play five defenders against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Daily Mail report that a source described the incident to them.
Ritchie was basically saying, “Just get on with it, even if you don’t like it, it’s the manager’s choice”. They had a row on the pitch but it wasn’t finished there. It all flared up again and Lascelles went for Ritchie in the changing-room.
Lascelles was involved in a similar incident last season as another training ground bust-up saw Jonjo Shelvey suffer a broken finger after trying to separate a fight that had broken out between the club captain and Mo Diame.
Following Lascelles’ incident with Ritchie last week, Benitez is believed to have spoken to both players to rectify the situation.
The club, Lascelles and Ritchie have all declined to comment on the incident.
