Dundalk manager Vinny Perth has reacted angrily to comments made by his Waterford counterpart John Sheridan at Oriel Park.
The Lilywhites dropped points for the third game running in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division, having come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Sheridan's Blues.
"They deserve their result, and full respect to them," Perth told reporters after the game
"John Sheridan's probably a hero of mine. That '94 [World Cup] team - that midfield he played in - him, Andy Townsend, Roy Keane, it was amazing.
"Calling this a 'pub league', a 'shambles of a league', I can't accept that as a League of Ireland man.
"That disappointed me, I didn't challenge him on it."
Matt Smith gave Waterford a 24th minute lead, as they looked to atone for their FAI Cup defeat to the same opposition on Monday.
Former Dundalk man Kurtis Byrne made it 2-0 five-minutes after the restart.
But it was the dismissal of Ali Coote, 12-minutes from time that helped sway the game back towards the hosts.
Pat Hoban pulled one back shortly afterwards, before Daniel Clearly bundled the ball home in stoppage time.
But it was Sheridan's comments that riled Perth more than the two dropped points.
"He shouted it onto the pitch a couple of times, even to his own players," the Dundalk boss said.
"If I played for him, I would have walked off - "This is why you're playing in this league, 'coz it's a fuckin' pub league" - excuse me French.
"I can't accept that as part of League of Ireland football. We have to have a higher standard than that.
"That might be ok in the lower leagues in England. He's disrespected me and the league tonight.
"But he has the moral high ground. He's told me I'm getting sacked anyway.
"That's fine, but I don't mind that part of it. It's the disrespect of our league. It's a brilliant league full of brilliant people and I'm not happy about that.
"If Waterford are happy to have someone in charge who's in charge of a pub league that's their own business.
"I wish John well. He had an amazing career, amazing career for Ireland. The '94 performance was outstanding, beautiful footballer but class is permanent."
Perth says it was a disrespectful barrage to be met with, but added, "It is to Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians, Cork City, Derry City, Sligo - the work that's done in our league.
"Do I get frustrated with the league? Absolutely. I mean, we've clubs who've voted not to play football.
"But it's not a 'pub league' and it's not a shambles of a league. There's a lot of good players here.
"Irish football needs this league to be strong. We see that with the Irish national team.
"I just can't tolerate these English lads coming over and disrespecting, it's not acceptable."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
