West Brom man Jonathan Leko opens up on stress of racism case against Leeds United's Kiko Casilla

The Baggies forward spent the first half of the season on loan at Charlton Athletic
Jonathan Leko. (Image: Getty)Jonathan Leko. (Image: Getty)
Jonathan Leko. (Image: Getty)

Jonathan Leko says it has been difficult to watch Kiko Casilla continue to play during the FA disciplinary process over an allegation of racism.

The governing body last week imposed an eight-game ban on Casilla and handed him a £60,000 fine after he was found guilty of using racist language towards the striker by an independent regulatory commission.

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The incident - which Casilla strongly refutes - occurred during United's Championship clash with Charlton Athletic at The Valley last September.

The Spaniard will now sit out during the majority of the Championship run-in and is also required to attend a face-to-face education course.

Leko - who was on loan at the Addicks at the time of the incident - has now released a statement through parent club West Bromwich Albion explaining the "extremely stressful" process as he continues to recover from a torn ACL injury that has ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.

“I am naturally relieved that the process is now complete," the statement read.

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"The FA have upheld what I have always known to be true – that I was racially abused by Kiko Casilla in a manner which shocked me and still angers and upsets me to this day.

“I have been disappointed with the amount of time it has taken to reach this point. Knowing what occurred in the game that day, it has been difficult to watch Kiko Casilla continue to play for such a lengthy period as if nothing had happened.

“I would urge the game’s governing bodies to look into their own processes when such incidents are reported. It was 22 weeks between the incident and the hearing during which I had minimal contact from the PFA, of which I am a member, and no contact in the way of support from leading anti-racism bodies such as ‘Kick It Out’ and ‘Show Racism The Red Card’. Some support or guidance would have been very welcome.

“By bringing the incident to the referee’s attention immediately, I was only doing what I have been educated to do throughout my career. But I found the hearing, at which I was made to feel I had done something wrong, extremely stressful.

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“It made me question whether I would be prepared to go through it all again were I on the receiving end of similar abuse in the future. I certainly would think twice about how to advise another player placed in the same situation.

“From the outset, all I have done is report something that had to be challenged and exposed for what it is – racial abuse. I now want to put the episode behind me and concentrate on recovering from my injury to be ready for next season."