Leeds United came out on top in a fiery battle at Elland Road.

Phil Parkinson has suggested that he wants to ask the referee why Marcelo Bielsa was not also sent off following the second-half melee in Saturday’s clash between Leeds and Bolton that saw players and coaches get involved, in comments reported by The Bolton News.

Parkinson was sent off after an already fiery encounter boiled over when Josh Magennis fouled Gjanni Alioski on the touchline. Several Leeds players took exception to Joe Williams trying to haul Alioski back onto his feet, and that sparked the scuffle that ultimately saw the Bolton boss sent to the stands.

After the game, Parkinson suggested that he got involved when he saw Mateusz Klich pour a bottle down Williams’s back following his attempt to drag Alioski up – and he insisted that he could not understand why Bielsa did not follow him down the tunnel.

“I am going to ask the ref why their manager was not sent off because he was outside the technical area doing the same, so were all their staff. No-one could see that escalating into a brawl,” he said, as reported by The Bolton News.

“One of their players poured a bottle of water over Joe Williams’s head and that kind of started it. Nobody got booked for it and the fourth official didn’t see it.”

Parkinson is correct that Bielsa left his technical area. But replays made it clear that the Leeds boss avoided the clash as if he was almost oblivious to what was going on around him (via Sky Sports).

Instead, Bielsa went over to check on Alioski and help the wide-man back onto his feet before seemingly returning to his position once everything calmed down.

Bolton definitely seemed to come to Elland Road with the intention of testing whether Leeds would stand up or fold in a physical battle. Magennis and Clayton Donaldson certainly asked a lot of questions of the Whites from that perspective.

But, while Leeds were not anywhere near their best, they did manage to bag the crucial three points to leave themselves within touching distance of the top two in the Championship.

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