Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio has apologised after cameras caught him calling a member of the All Whites coaching staff a "bald-headed motherf***er" during his side's 2-1 win.
Osorio said post-match that he got frustrated with somebody on the New Zealand bench after they allegedly swore at him in Spanish, which did not please the 56-year old.
The incident started when Mexico's Carlos Salcedo went down with a shoulder injury in the first half, and New Zealand continued playing.
"First of all I would like to apologise to our followers. I have to say that my words were too strong," Osorio said.
"Evidently I went too far, specifically with one of their assistants."
It is not clear which coach he insulted about their lack of hair, as both manager Anthony Hudson and assistant Darren Bazeley are bald.
"We always understood and respected their playing idea, a very direct type of football, with a lot of contact," Osorio continued.
"We always respect and understand how they play. They are very direct, they are very strong - but when that goes too far and means disrespecting fair play, well, I stopped accepting and understanding.
"The situation where Salcedo fell down gave them a goalscoring opportunity that would have been terrible for us.
"Both our players and myself were shouting at them to please stop the game but there was no reaction on their side.
"The game was really rough, nearly violent and I think that's unacceptable. That's why I lost my temper. I was very offended and I heard some insults in my direction in Spanish."
While he admitted to firing the insult at the All Whites bench, he has blamed the entire incident on a member of the New Zealand coaching staff.
"It is true that the camera shows what I said, but their assistant is responsible for everything that happened."
Osorio had to be restrained late in the match after another heated incident which nearly led to a mass brawl.
Mexico skipper Diego Reyes pulled back All Whites defender Michael Boxall as he pushed the ball up field which led to most of the players on the pitch running in, with plenty of pushing and shoving ensuing between the two teams.
Referee Bakary Gassama consulted the video assistant referee before issuing three yellow cards.
However All Whites coach Anthony Hudson played down the incident.
"I thought it was bizarre really, it was like we had elbowed the player the way it was going on," he said.
"These things are all part of the game. I'd rather talk about how my team performed and really a performance that I guarantee no one at this tournament expected.
"All the media talked about our team as having zero chance in this game, all of the media. I'd rather talk about how much of a big performance it was from every player, subs coming off the bench included."
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