DOUBLE BLAST FOR SMITH
The England Under-21 international, who had a great start to the season after scoring five goals in his opening four games, was booked by referee Markus Merk in the 52nd minute at Camp Nou for a challenge on Philip Cocu.
However, de Boer claims that Smith was lucky not to have received harsher punishment for the high challenge, which saw the Dutch international substituted soon after as a precaution, after committing earlier fouls on Rivaldo, Simao and de Boer himself.
"You can play aggressively," said de Boer. "But you have to play fair as well, and Smith was not. What he did was unacceptable.
"Whenever the ball was gone, Smith went on to hit the other player's legs. He should have been sent off for the foul on Cocu.
"He did too many fouls like that and if he is to become a top player he must calm down."
Smith has already been praised this season by manager David O'Leary, after controlling the "thug" in him over the summer, which, along with his potent goalscoring form, helped him to earn a call-up to the England squad for the recent game with France.
De Boer also feels that Leeds played with the wrong tactics in the game, despite being forced to play a defensive formation due to a crippling injury crisis and the loss of striker Mark Viduka on Olympic duty, and feels that they must change for the visit of Milan on Tuesday.
"They tried to stop Rivaldo by fouling him, but it worked the other way and made him more determined to do well. In that form he is the best player in the world, he can destroy any team. It's at times like that I am glad he's on my team because he is so difficult to mark.
"Milan will also intimidate them. I was just not impressed by any of their players. We overwhelmed them. Maybe they will be tougher to beat when we go to Elland Road but, here in Camp Nou, they were too naïve.
"We know that normally they play in an aggressive way, trying to get the ball forward, but against us they defended far too deeply, dropping back into their own half and that made it easier for us.
"They were missing players like Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka and that really showed when they played us - they needed those guys."
The Dutch international skipper scored the second goal of the 4-0 rout, and admitted that he was pleased with the effort.
"It was a nice strike, a great goal. I think it was the first free-kick I have ever scored at Camp Nou because Rivaldo normally takes them.
"I had been hitting them well in training. Most of them were a bit closer than the one against Leeds but almost all of them went in. Rivaldo saw me taking them and he asked me whether I would like to take one in the game."
Cocu himself joined in the criticism of Smith, saying: "It looks like I'll be out of action for ten days to two weeks with an injury to my left knee following a tackle - one of many - by Smith
"Early in the second half, he came in with two feet and trapped my left foot on the ground, which caused my knee to twist. I have to see a doctor today and have an X-ray but I don't believe that there is any serious damage to the ligaments.
"We heard about what Smith was like before the game from Marc Overmars, who had played against him for Arsenal.
"Everyone certainly noticed him but he showed his skills in areas other than football on Wednesday night. I'm told he's talented, but he will be a better player when he learns to control himself. At the moment, he looks at the opponent more than he does the ball."
