Massimo Cellino denies any knowledge of Leeds United 'strike'

The club released a statement on Sunday night, looking to draw a line under the controversy

Massimo Cellino says he first heard of six Leeds players pulling out of the squad on Friday evening (Getty)

Massimo Cellino, the Leeds United president, has insisted he had nothing to do with the events that led to six players pulling out of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Charlton.

Mirco Antenucci, Giuseppe Bellusci, Dario Del Fabro, Marco Silvestri, Souleymane Doukara and Edgar Cani withdrew from the squad on the eve of the trip to The Valley citing injuries, prompting accusations that the players had gone “on strike”.

The club released a statement on Sunday night, looking to draw a line under the controversy, which read: “Leeds United wants to clarify that during the days leading up to the away fixture at Charlton on Saturday six first-team players suffered injuries.”

Cellino, who has been banned since January after being found guilty of not paying tax on a yacht in Italy, has now also distanced himself from any involvement.

“I am not a coward and not the sort of guy who tells his players to go on strike,” he said. “I only found out on Friday evening. I admit it looks weird. But if the players were injured, why didn’t the manager inform the chairman? This looks like a fight between manager Neil Redfearn and the ownership of the club, which is not good.”

Redfearn’s position has come under increasing threat recently, despite leading the club to safety in the Championship after taking over from ill-fated predecessors David Hockaday and Darko Milanic. His assistant, Steve Thompson, was suspended nearly three weeks ago and his own deal, which expires at the end of the season, looks increasingly unlikely to be renewed.

The state of flux at Elland Road has led many fans to call for Cellino to leave the club, but the Italian insisted he still wishes to take Leeds forward. “My dream is still for us to do something big here,” he said.