Leeds and their owner Andrea Radrizzani have slammed pundit Karen Carney for saying the club only got promoted to the Premier League 'because of Covid'.
The former England footballer claimed on Amazon Prime Sport's coverage of the Whites' trip to West Brom that Marcelo Bielsa's side were aided by the coronavirus hiatus in March.
Leeds posted a reply to Carney's claims via Twitter but the response has been criticised over the club 'targeting' the former footballer, including from former Leeds defender Rio Ferdinand.
Carney claimed on Tuesday night: 'They (Leeds) out-run everyone and credit to them. My only concern would be, "would they blow up at the end of the season?"
'We saw that in the last couple of seasons and I actually think they got promoted because of Covid in terms of it gave them a bit of respite. I don't know whether they would have gone up if they didn't have that break.'
After Leeds had posted their response, Radrizzani tweeted: 'I take the responsibility of the Club tweet. I consider that comment completely unnecessary and disrespectful to our Club and particularly to the fantastic hard work of our players and coaches whom were understanding on the pitch for the last two championship seasons by all stats.'
The Italian businessman was not the only member of the Leeds camp to condemn the comment made by Carney. Current players Mateusz Klich and Ben White posted disgusted and amusing emojis above the club's response.
Furthermore, Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling criticised Carney for a lack of accuracy in her claims.
In the five games before the first coronavirus lockdown, Leeds won every single game without conceding a single goal. Bielsa's side even lost the first game after the coronavirus hiatus against Cardiff City, implying Leeds did not benefit from a break at all.
Stelling tweeted: 'Leeds so lucky that Covid intervened . They had only won five in a row before the season was suspended. Clearly running out of steam !!!'
However, former England defender Ferdinand had joined other social media users in condemning Leeds' tweet on Tuesday night, with the former England international defender calling for the Premier League side to 'delete the tweet'.
Leeds were promoted to the Premier League last season after winning the Championship by a ten-point margin after a 16-year absence from England's top-flight.
Manager Bielsa is known for his hard-working training regimes and in-game tactics which Carney paid tribute to in her coverage.
However, the Leeds boss has often been attributed with the phrase 'Bielsa Burnout' which stems from the Chilean coach's teams running out of steam due to fatigue.
An example was during the 2014-15 season with Marseille where the French side lead the league after 19 games, with OM being branded the 'autumn champions' that season. Bielsa's side went on to finish fourth after a steep drop in form.
Bielsa's Leeds are performing well in their first season back in the top-flight since 2004, with three wins in four games - including a 5-0 win at West Brom on Tuesday - lifting them up to 11th in the table and 12 points above the relegation zone.