Beckham in tunnel bust-up

David Beckham was involved in a furious halftime bust-up after accusing a Tokyo Verdy player of spitting at him during a pre-season game on Monday.

The England captain and Real Madrid team mates Ronaldo and Michel Salgado tried to force their way into Verdy's changing room to get to Kazuyuki Toda after an ugly clash on the pitch.

"Toda spat in my face," Beckham told Reuters after Real's shock 3-0 defeat. "That in life is horrible but in football no players like that.

"Our players saw it and they weren't happy about it."

Asked what happened in the tunnel at halftime, Beckham smiled: "Only handbags but nothing much. Just a few words exchanged, nothing more."

Beckham became embroiled in a running feud with former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Toda early on in Real's fourth match of their six-game pre-season tour.

Real coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo blamed Verdy hard man Toda for trying to provoke Beckham.

"Toda was very dirty," he told reporters. "He kicked Beckham when the ref wasn't looking. At halftime some of the players got over-excited."

TODA INJURY

Toda, who left the pitch on a stretcher with damaged ligaments in his right arm after a late tackle, denied that he had deliberately spat at Beckham.

"Beckham kicked me and I swore at him," he said. "Some spit flew but it didn't hit him. That's why he got angry I think.

"They were fouling a lot and so were we. But Beckham kicked me and that annoyed me."

Verdy's caretaker manager Nobuhiro Ishizaki tried to calm his players after the blazing tunnel row.

"I told the players I didn't want them going out committing fouls and upsetting Real's players," he said. "But it was a very physical game and these things happen."

Beckham played almost an hour after missing Saturday's 3-2 victory over Beijing Guo'an with a hamstring injury. Real take on J-League side Jubilo Iwata on Wednesday before finishing their money-spinning tour with a friendly in Thailand.