Daniel Farke accused Gianluigi Donnarumma of faking injury to “break the rules” as Manchester City denied his Leeds team a valuable Premier League point on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium.
The visitors got off to the worst possible start with Phil Foden scoring in the first minute, before Josko Gvardiol doubled the home team’s lead before the break.
However, Leeds recovered after the break following a change in tactics and formation, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring immediately after the restart.
And with City visibly struggling to cope with the changes just before Lukas Nmecha equalised, home goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma came down for treatment, allowing manager Pep Guardiola to call his players to the touchline and give new instructions in the two minutes the game was stopped.
“Everyone knows why he fell,” Farke said.
“It’s not the elephant in the room. Why it fell was obvious. It’s within the rules. It’s smart. Do I like it? Is it within the meaning of fair play? If so, I’ll keep it to myself. It’s up to the authorities to find a solution.
“At this moment I ask the fourth official if he wants to do something. Our hands are tied.
“If we don’t educate our players in football on what to do in terms of fair play and sportsmanship and whatever, and if we just try to break the rules and even fake an injury so we can talk more about the team, that’s not what I like personally. But if it’s within the rules, I can’t complain.”
Foden’s stoppage-time goal condemned Leeds to a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games, leaving them 18th in the table, with only bottom team Wolves having scored fewer goals in the top flight this season.
However, Farke, who has been criticized for his lack of adventure, especially around substitutions, was almost rewarded by a bold decision at half-time that almost reversed his fortunes.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Foden said his team was only able to regroup after Guardiola’s conference with his players on the touchline.
“At half-time we were in control. In the second half they came out, put a lot more pressure on us, put two up and changed the formation a little,” said Foden.
“We really struggled to dominate the game. We met on the side of the field and changed some things and everything got better from there. That little break was crucial to do things well.
“The manager changed the way we pressed and played. You can see from the moment we had the talk that things improved a lot. He was crucial in helping us go ahead and win the game.”
Farke added: “It is up to the authorities to find a solution. Is it in the sense of play or fair play? I have my doubts.”
