'Won't win a fair play prize': Leeds United boss Daniel Farke accuses Milutin Osmajic of diving following Illan Meslier red card

The Preston frontman was pushed in the face by Meslier after muscling in on an altercation between the Leeds goalkeeper and team-mate Ben Whiteman early in the second half.

Osmajic fell to the ground and Meslier was duly sent off by referee Josh Smith to leave Leeds down to 10 men.

Alan Browne headed in the opener with United still recovering from the setback but Leeds rallied and appeared to be on course for a point when captain Pascal Struijk scored from the penalty spot seven minutes from time.

However, the outstanding Liam Millar had the final word with a stunning strike to consign United to a fifth away defeat of the Championship season, one heavily influenced by a moment of controversy in the eyes of Farke.

"He gets the first knock from the first player and the second player who was nothing to do with the situation runs over and gives Illan a hard knock against his body because he just wants to provoke something," he said.

"Illan reacts and then the player goes down and rolls around 10 times after a little movement from Illan. The red card was just what he wanted.

"As a referee, you should sense this and not influence a game like this in this way. The Preston player's one target was to provoke a red card.

"He won't win a fair play prize with this diving. I hate this type of behaviour that tries to provoke red cards.

"I also can't complain about this because this is sometimes what a team does when they're searching for momentum against a side that was praised so much after the last home game against Ipswich."

Saturday's 4-0 rout of their automatic promotion rivals breathed life into Leeds' top-two bid but they may ultimately pay the price for their unconvincing away form.

After another insipid performance on the road, United will head to West Bromwich Albion on Friday night without the suspended Meslier.

"You could argue we gave the referee a decision to make with this little movement of Illan and he should act smarter in this situation, although I don't think it should be a red card,” added Farke.

"Normally as a referee, everybody in the stadium knows he's trying to provoke something, so get them both together and give them a yellow card. That would be a fair outcome for a proper football game.

"With the red card, you influence the game in a way that it's a completely different game.

"It's an away game with a spicy atmosphere. Everyone in this sold-out stadium was asking for a red card which is quite normal. Don't give the referee even a small chance to give a red card. Illan has to learn.

"I have to concentrate on what we could have done better. We didn’t create enough today.

"We needed 45 minutes to come into the game but if you have crucial situations against you with the red card, sometimes at this level you have to accept the loss.”