LEEDS UNITED star Kiko Casilla has been suspended for eight matches and fined £60,000 following racism charge.
The goalkeeper, 33, has been found guilty of racially abusing Charlton forward Jonathan Leko – which he still denies.
Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla has been banned for eight matches after being found guilty of using racist language during a game against CharltonCredit: Getty Images
A club statement said: “Leeds United acknowledges that Kiko Casilla has been found guilty of breaching FA Rule E3 during our Sky Bet Championship game with Charlton Athletic in September 2019.
“Casilla has been banned for 8 games following the verdict from the FA.
“We would like to make it clear that we do not tolerate any form of discrimination within our football club and we are a leader in the fight against discrimination within our wider community.
“However, it is important to recognise that Kiko has always denied making any racist comment.
“The FA panel have based their decision on the balance of probability rather than proving Kiko to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt, which we have always believed is the more appropriate burden of proof.”
The incident is alleged to have taken place on September 28 but the stopper still denies using the racist languageCredit: Getty Images
The Spaniard, who arrived at Elland Road from Real Madrid in January 2019, will now miss out on a crunch run of fixtures for Marcelo Bielsa’s promotion hopefuls.
He will not be free to return until Leeds face Yorkshire rivals Barnsley on April 18.
They are currently five ponts clear of third-place Fulham in second spot in the Championship.
Referee John Brooks heard what was said by Casilla on the day of the match and immediately reported the incident to the FA, who then began their investigation.
Lip readers and Spanish interpreters were used to determine exactly what was said to Leko, 20.
Incidents of racial abuse seem to be on the rise with Manchester United midfielder Fred subjected to monkey gestures in the recent derby win over City.
The FA Cup match between Haringey Borough and Yeovil Town was abandoned after reports of racism in the stands in October.
That same month Gareth Southgate’s England team faced Nazi salutes and monkey chants from the home crowd in Bulgaria during their Euro 2020 qualifier.
Charlton striker Jonathan Leko was on the receiving end of the alleged racist abuseCredit: Getty Images
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
