A number of Brentford players were involved in a furious confrontation in the tunnel after their defeat to Arsenal, according to a report.

After almost an hour of timewasting and underhand tactics to try and sneak a draw at the Emirates Stadium, Brentford players were left heartbroken as Kai Havertz headed in the winning goal on Saturday to hand all three points to Arsenal.

The team could barely contain their tempers on the pitch, with Ivan Toney squaring up to Gabriel Magalhaes and Nathan Collins receiving a yellow card for arguing with the referee.

But it didn’t get any better as the side headed down the tunnel, according to John Cross of the Mirror.

Cross reports that furious Brentford players and coaching staff confronted referee Rob Jones after the game, with Collins shouting “f***ing disgrace” and “cheat” in the tunnel.

Jones didn’t include the matter in his report, so the FA can take no action, but eye witnesses claim “it was all kicking off”.

Collins was angry that Havertz hadn’t received a second yellow card for a perceived dive by the forward before his winning goal.

Despite their protestations, in retrospect, Brentford can have few complaints about the result.

Former referee Dermot Gallagher told Sky Sports he felt Brentford were “really, really lucky” not to concede a penalty before the Havertz incident even happened, with Mads Roerslev fouling Leandro Trossard.

Gallagher added that there was enough contact between Collins and Havertz for the German to avoid a booking for simulation.

In fact, Collins should have received a yellow himself after brandishing an imaginary card in the referee’s direction. That act was branded an “automatic yellow card” in the guidelines given at the start of the season.

But none of that fits with the ‘robbery’ narrative from a Brentford side unwilling to admit they simply weren’t good enough to take a point.