Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch “felt sorry for the fans” after accusing Aston Villa of repeated timewasting during Sunday’s goalless draw.
Marsch’s side secured a hard-earned point despite the 48th-minute sending off of Colombia winger Luis Sinisterra.
“This is the best league in the world and our fans don’t come here to watch a match at snail’s pace,” said Marsch.
But Villa boss Steven Gerrard replied: “Was he unhappy with their timewasting when they went down to 10 men?”
The ex-England midfielder added: “It works both ways.
“But I’m not interested in Jesse and what he thinks and his opinion. We will do what we need to do. I’m only interested in Aston Villa.”
Six different players received at least a caution at Elland Road – four from Leeds and two from Villa.
Villa had 19 shots, seven of which were on target, against Leeds’ six, with Patrick Bamford’s late strike – stopped by visiting keeper Emiliano Martinez – being their lone shot on target.
However, Marsch, who watched the game from the back of a stand while serving a one-game touchline punishment for his red card in last month’s 5-2 loss to Brentford, felt Villa were negative from the outset.
“I almost feel we have to apologise to our fans,” added the American.
“They didn’t get an entertaining match, they got a match that was slowed down by an opponent from the first minute and they [the fans] don’t get to enjoy coming to Elland Road as much as they should.
“I will be speaking to someone from the league and [have] already spoken to the referees’ committee, it’s clearly a tactic. I feel bad for our fans, they have to watch that and they don’t get an energetic game.
“It’s respect for how we play against the ball, in the aggression we show and quality we have against the ball. Our fans like to see us where the team plays with aggression and they [Villa] are trying to flip the script.
“I have had more referees that were able to manage it better – it leads to frustration to everyone in the crowd.”
