Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand come face-to-face for the first time since ‘clown’ argument

Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher bumped into each other at the Etihad on Wednesday night, a week after the much-talked about 'clown' incident.

Let me provide a recap. Last week, during CBS' Champions League coverage of the Milan derby, Carragher branded former Manchester United defender Ferdinand a clown.

Having gone 2-0 up after 11 minutes, Inter were given a penalty in the 30th minute after Lautaro Martinez appeared to be brought down by Simon Kjaer.

However, referee Jesus Gil overturned his decision and waved away the penalty after reviewing the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

Ferdinand, who was covering the match for BT Sport, said it was a stonewall penalty but Carragher disagreed, saying: “I think anyone out there who is watching the replay and seeing what VAR do and still believe that is a penalty, they must be a clown."

“Rio Ferdinand, I’m happy to call him a clown...” 🤡@Carra23 defends Stevie G, but throws Rio under the bus. 😂 pic.twitter.com/iJhKTHV2l0

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 10, 2023

Fellow pundit Micah Richards soon chipped in, saying: “Name names.”

Carragher replied: “Rio Ferdinand. I'm happy to call him a clown!" –– a moment that left Thierry Henry in shock as he held his papers up to his face in disbelief.

A few days later, Ferdinand asked his former England teammate for an explanation as to why he called him a clown. "Let's discuss the clown comment," he said on Twitter. "Why you coming with hostility???"

He added on the FIVE YouTube channel: "Every time I see him it's all love man. I don't understand why he came with the hostility. We see each other, it's all cool.

"He used to carry my boots when we were with England and stuff like that. Always showed me love."

Can’t believe Arsenal fans would rather take 2nd over winning a trophy 👀😂

Ps @Carra23 let’s discuss the 🤡 comment… why you coming with hostility???https://t.co/VYmxryl9Uf pic.twitter.com/hbXXoF3IoF

— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) May 15, 2023

With all that tension in the air, both Carragher and Ferdinand embraced in a slightly awkward encounter at the Etihad on Wednesday night.

In fact, Ferdinand tweeted: "Why the red face!!?? @Carra23" after he appeared to ignore the former Liverpool defender, moments after shaking hands with fellow pundit Micah Richards.

Eventually, the pair shared a laugh and a handshake but that didn't stop social media from talking ahead of tonight's Champions League semi-final second leg between Manchester City and Real Madrid.

One fan said: "Left hanging in brutal fashion," while another wrote: "You’re better than this pal."

A third commented: "Proper playground behaviour this."

Thoughts on the above footage?

Let us know in the comments.