Jack Wilshere pushed Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel after reacting to something he heard while shaking his hand following Luton's 2-1 win on Tuesday night

Jack Wilshere sparked a touchline melee after clashing with Daniel Stendel in the aftermath of Luton's heated win over Barnsley on Tuesday night.

Luton picked up a much-needed 2-1 victory against the Tykes which moved them up to 13th place in League One. But the win came in controversial fashion, with Barnsley's Amani Richards booked for diving late on when he believed he was fouled for a penalty.

Wilshere and Stendel were in heated discussion over the incident on the touchline and their bad blood continued after the final whistle. The former Arsenal and England midfielder went to shake Stendel's hand, only to immediately react badly.

In scenes that were reminiscent of Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte's infamous handshake clash, Wilshere recoiled back and pushed the Barnsley boss away before pointing the finger at him.

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The two were quickly separated as coaching staff from both sides piled in, with Luton goalkeeping coach Kevin Pilkington paying close attention to Stendel. The melee ended up sucking in players from both sides before eventually cooling down.

Wilshere told the BBC when asked about the heated scenes: "They want to win, we want to win. I have massive respect for them and what they're trying to do - I know they haven't got the results, but I can see what they're trying to do and they're a tough team to play because they've got some good players.

"We got the win in the end and it got a bit heated but we shake hands in the end and everyone moves on.

"Sometimes you see how together we are. We're all together. We're respectful but sometimes as well it shows everyone that we are together and a few players were in there as well. You want to be respectful but also to show togetherness."

Stendel is under mounting pressure, with Barnsley 22nd following a fifth straight defeat in all competitions, and he also tried to downplay the incident. “It was a misunderstanding between me and Jack Wilshere," he said. "But I tried to talk with him [after the game] and I think it's not a big thing.”

The Barnsley manager made three substitutions at half-time and was furious with his players. “We cannot accept the performance like in the first half. We want to do so much," he said.

“The atmosphere before the game in the locker room was so positive, and after one minute, the first set piece, we considered again the goal. And it's not a reason that we have not trained. It's not a reason why Luton is so good in that. It was the desire to defend the headers in this situation. And the second goal was the same. It was really frustrating in the half-time and I was a little bit louder."

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