Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla is currently serving an eight-match ban after being found guilty of having racially abused Charlton Athletic’s Jonathan Leko back in September. The 33-year-old, who denies the charges, was also fined £60k (as per BBC Sport) – though the saga continues to rumble on.
On Tuesday, the Football Association released a written report (via their official website) detailing why and how they had come to their verdict. Following on from that, Leko released a statement via West Bromwich Albion’s official website in which he criticised the fact it took 22 weeks for Casilla to be punished and claimed he had not received any contact from leading anti-racism bodies such as Kick It Out and Show Racism The Red Card.
Should Kiko Casilla have received a longer ban?
Yes
No
As a result, Kick It Out released a statement of their own in which they insist they did reach out via the correct channels and voiced their disappointment at the ban administered.
Here’s how some of Leeds’ supporters have reacted to Kick It Out’s statement.
Leeds really needs to show more here. As a club we have not done enough to back Leko or Kick it out. Players come and go, they’re only players. We should not be supporting Kiko now hes been found guilty of such an act.
— Sam Jackson ?? (@samjackson23) March 5, 2020
I’m not defending anyone on this. However, balance of probability is not the same as beyond reasonable doubt. Guilty is not equal in both instances. I’ve read the summary twice over and it’s not cut and dry. The only definite is Kikos defence was as shaky as his goalkeeping.
— dazrebo (@dazrebo) March 5, 2020
I agree that IF h saidit, the ban should be longer. No place for it. And it looks like he probably did say it. But the fact that none of this has actually been proven doesn’t sit right with me. I’m not defending him. It just seems dodgy.
— Frainy_180 (@frainy_180) March 5, 2020
Can’t see him at lufc for much longer Adam you?
— topman65 (@baldyman1965) March 5, 2020
Diversionary tactics. Leko, quite rightly, criticised them for not offering enough support, and now they are trying to distract from that.
— Bielsa Bubb ?? (@bellhouse_mike) March 5, 2020
Did he actually say that? If he did I never want him playing for my club again!
— Josh (@Cressey22) March 5, 2020
What do we think?
There is no place in society for racism, let alone in our game. The difficulty here is there are a number of contradicting statements which make dealing with this incident extremely challenging.