Bruno Fernandes says he shushed Pep Guardiola because the Manchester City boss did not show him any respect.
The Manchester United midfielder clashed with the Catalan towards the end of the Red Devils' 2-0 victory over their crosstown rivals last weekend.
That win kept Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side three points behind Chelsea in fourth place in the Premier League table.
And Fernandes, who has made an excellent start to his United career since joining the club in the January transfer window, has opened up on his gesture towards Guardiola.
"I talked about this with some friends and some people think: 'Pep won everything, who is Bruno to diss him?', but I think it is about respect," Fernandes told Sky Sports.
"Now, I think outside of the pitch I don't do this again if I am on the pitch now. But, at that moment the words he told me made me mad, and on the pitch I am a little bit nervous, it is the kind of player I am.
"I have respect for Pep and what he won, and what he did for football because he changed some mentalities in football.
"But, at that moment he didn't respect me and so he didn't deserve my respect at that moment on the pitch.
“But for me it doesn’t matter. What goes on in the pitch, out of it, for me, it's past."
United have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League following Thursday's 5-0 thrashing of LASK in the first leg of their last-16 clash.
Solskjaer's side are due to return to Premier League action against Tottenham on Sunday, although all of this weekend's top-flight fixtures are in doubt due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The Premier League will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the situation.
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