Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Don’t Kik me for Casilla skip call
BIELSA DEFENDS DECISION TO GIVE ARMBAND TO RACE-BAN KEEPER
MARCELO BIELSA has defended his decision to make goalkeeper Kiko Casilla captain.
The Spaniard was banned for racially abusing Charlton star Jonathan Le kola st season and some Leeds fans were upset by the decision to give him the armband for the Carabao Cup defeat by Hull.
But Elland Road boss Bielsa says Casilla – who skippered the side in the absence of the injured Liam Cooper – has the support of the dressing room.
And the Argentinian ( far right) questioned just how many supporters were angry with his call.
“I respect the thoughts of any person,” said Bielsa. “But opinions can be argued.
“Surely those who judge
Kiko ignore a lot of things his team-mates see in him.
“I interpreted the feeling of his team-mates. His teammates think he deserved to be the captain and we have to listen to those messages.
“You are saying I should have considered whether to pick Kiko as captain, so do I take the opinion of the fans or the players?
“The captain not only represents his team-mates, but he also represents the club. That means you can’t limit me to the players’ wishes.
“I would like to know what percentage of the fanbase actually didn’t want Kiko as captain. The opinion of th e masses should always be heard, but I don’t know what percentage of the fans it actually is.”
Casilla, 33, was banned for eight games in February and fined £60,000 after being found guilty of abusing Leko in a Championship game at The Valley.
Hull was only y his second appear ar- ance since then n as he has lost the No.1 spot to
France Under21 international l
Illan Meslier.
Bielsa, who saw aw his side lose 4-3 at Liverpool l ast weekend , claims the fans who criticise Casilla because of his suspension do not know the full facts of the incident.
“It doesn’t matter what we think, we have to accept the decision of the authorities,” he added. “But the public won’t have all the information that his team-mates will have. Of course we value the conduct of Kiko, which only we can judge because we are part of the group.
“His team-mates think he deserves to be the captain and we have to lis listen to those m messages. The p players see in their captain s someone who t they think can re represent them.” C Casilla played 126126 competitive matches for Espanyol over six La Liga seasons before returning in 2015 to former club Real Madrid , with whom he won three Champions Leagues as backup to Keylor Navas. He moved to Leeds United in January 2019.