West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola had sympathy for Stoke counterpart Tony Pulis after seeing Ricardo Fuller strike his captain, Andy Griffin.
Fuller's red card for slapping his own captain helped West Ham to victory at Upton Park.
But Hammers boss Zola was not happy to see his opposite number having to deal with a scrap between two of his own players.
He said: "I've only seen this kind of thing on television before. I feel sorry for my colleague really.
"From my point of view it may have given us an advantage but you don't want to see things like that, even if they happen to the opposition. It's as simple as that.
"I'm sure Tony will handle it properly."