Tony Pulis was involved in a row with James Beattie in the dressing room after yesterday's defeat at Arsenal which is understood to have led to the Stoke City manager and former England striker exchanging blows before a member of the Premier League club's backroom staff intervened.
The alleged argument is believed to have started after Pulis ordered the players to report for training today, prompting Beattie to object after it had previously been agreed that the first team would not be required to come in until Tuesday because they were due to go out in London last night for their Christmas party.
Pulis, who had just seen Stoke lose 2-0 to Arsène Wenger's side, is said to have reacted furiously to Beattie's response and, after squaring up to the 31-year-old in the visitors' dressing room, it is alleged the pair clashed and punches were thrown. One source claimed that the fracas ended only when the club's masseur dragged Pulis away from his player.
Beattie is believed to have spoken up on behalf of his team-mates because he had spent the past few weeks organising the players' annual night out on the understanding that they would have two clear days off afterwards and he did not believe that the performance at the Emirates Stadium, where he appeared as a second-half substitute, warranted a change to that schedule.
The former Blackburn Rovers, Southampton, Everton and Sheffield United striker is a popular member of the Stoke dressing room and previously had enjoyed a good relationship with Pulis.
Having signed for the club in a £3.5m deal in January, he went on to score seven Premier League goals in 16 appearances and was widely credited with being the catalyst for Stoke's improved form in the second half of the season that saw them climb clear of the relegation zone and finish in 12th place.
This term, however, Beattie has struggled and has failed to score in 14 of his 15 appearances. He has started on the substitutes' bench in Stoke's last two matches and yesterday's incident at the Emirates will raise doubts about his long-term future at the club. Stoke did not respond to queries about the incident last night.
