Ex-Spurs midfielder at centre of Beckham spit storm

England captain David Beckham claims he was spat on by former Tottenham midfielder Kazuyuki Toda during a pre-season friendly in Tokyo.
 
"Toda spat in my face. That in life is horrible - but in football no players like that. Our players saw it and were not happy," said Beckham.

The 30-year-old midfielder got involved in an argument with Toda which threatened to turn nasty as the teams left the field at half-time. He was substituted after 57 minutes.

It has been reported he tried to get into the opposition dressing room to confront Toda.

"It was only handbags, just a few words were exchanged, nothing more," insisted Beckham.

Toda, who made two appearances for Tottenham in a 2003 loan spell, admitted "spit flew" but claimed it missed Beckham.

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

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

Real boss Wanderley Luxemburgo felt Beckham was provoked. He said: "Toda was very dirty. He kicked Beckham when the ref was not looking. At half-time, some of the players got over-excited."

"Tokyo Verdy were a bit violent and the players are still angry."