FIFA Women's World Cup: Irish midfielder burst into fight with opponent who 'dated' her ex-lover

Australia and Ireland were paired in the same group and faced each other in their first game on Thursday.

During their World Cup group stage match, Caitlin Foord of Australia and Ruesha Littlejohn of Ireland got into a fight.

The fight was said to have been triggered by a recent event in which Caitlin Foord was seen on a vacation with Ruesha Littlejohn ex-girlfriend.

The confrontation between both players almost went out of order before they were restrained from hurting each other.

The incident started after the final whistle was blown by the referee with Australia securing a narrow 1-0 win over Ireland.

Before the start of the game, Littlejohn appeared to have ignored Foord's handshake as the two teams greeted before kick-off which left fans shocked.

However, tempers seemed to flare on the field following the sound of the full-time whistle when Littlejohn was seen on camera moving toward Foord as the two were still on the field.

According to reports from the Sun, the Irish midfielder leaned closer to Foord while pointing an index finger at the Australian.

Littlejohn was allegedly "restrained" by a teammate before being brought to the dressing room, according to The Mail.

Katie McCabe, a longtime lover of Littlejohn and a teammate from Ireland, recently ended their relationship and was later sighted with Foord while on vacation in Ibiza.

An insider from the Matildas said as reported by the Sun, "Clearly there is still some tension surrounding Littlejohn's side of things which looks like it spilled over a bit on Thursday night.

"Caitlin and Katie are great friends. They play together for Arsenal. They spend a lot of time together. But there's nothing more to it than that."

Littlejohn is at top-flight rival Aston Villa, whereas Foord and McCabe play for Arsenal and are close friends.