West Ham beat Brentford 4-2 on Monday night and tensions were running high in the tunnel between Kevin Nolan and Neal Maupay.
Brentford’s Neal Maupay is one of the Premier League’s biggest wind-up merchants.
And it seems one member of West Ham’s coaching staff was having none of it at the London Stadium.
West Ham finally got their first win of 2024 at the ninth attempt when the Bees came to east London.
It was also the first time the Hammers have avoided defeat against Brentford in the league since their promotion to the top flight.
Tensions have been fraught at West Ham over the last couple of months.
Maupay prods West Ham hornet’s nest
So the last thing the Hammers needed was Maupay poking the hornet’s nest.
That’s exactly what he did, though, it seems.
But he upset the wrong man on the West Ham coaching staff.
Now a tunnel row between West Ham’s Kevin Nolan and Brentford’s Maupay is explained after being caught on camera.
Nolan confronted Bees striker in tunnel
Sky Sports is today showing footage of Nolan and Maupay being pulled apart in the London Stadium tunnel as the teams returned to the pitch for the second half.
The Hammers led 2-1 at the break.
Nolan is seen pointing and shouting at Maupay who is responding in kind as the pair are separated.
Sky Sports claim the row ignited because Nolan saw the French striker waiting outside the referee’s room to speak to the officials.
Nolan clearly took umbrage to what he likely felt was an attempt by Maupay to try and influence the officials in some way ahead of a crucial second half. You can see the footage in the post at the bottom of this story.
Antonio’s Maupay prediction almost comes true
In the end it mattered not, though. The Hammers took a 4-1 lead before the Bees pulled one back.
The row between Nolan and Maupay follows a high-profile incident involving the forward when Brentford played Man City recently.
Maupay is alleged to have aimed comments at Kyle Walker who was incensed.
After that incident Hammers striker Michail Antonio said Maupay is becoming the ‘most disliked person’ in the Premier League. And he warned him he will end up ‘getting beaten up’. Little did he know it might be by his assistant boss Nolan!
Thomas Frank recently insisted Maupay is a lovely guy off the pitch but has a different persona on it.
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