Leeds brush off Casilla ban to stride towards promotion
Marcelo Bielsa insisted Kiko Casilla was not racist, but revealed that the Leeds keeper would accept an eightgame Football Association ban for racially abusing Charlton midfielder Jonathan Leko.
Casilla, who strenuously denied the charge, was fined £60,000 and must attend face-to-face education sessions as part of the punishment, which was rubber-stamped on Friday night following the incident in September.
The 33-year-old Spaniard’s understudy, France Under-20 keeper Illan Meslier, enjoyed a comfortable afternoon yesterday as Bielsa’s side claimed a fourth consecutive win to maintain the pressure on Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion, whom they trail by just a point.
Bielsa said: “All of us at this club are against racism and Kiko is the first amongst us in this. We must accept the rules of the competition and accept those decisions, but Kiko is a great human being and he will receive all the love he needs from us.
“All of us are against any kind of discrimination. This is very clear. Kiko has a brilliant past, with nothing negative,” Bielsa said. “I’ve seen a lot of his behaviour where he supports minorities and small groups. He doesn’t do this publicly.
“The effect the sanctions will have on his spirit is clear. It’s not just something professional, it’s something that will impact his behaviour and personal matters. He’s strong and all of us will support him with the love he deserves.”
Leeds swept aside their injury-depleted hosts to record a fifth game unbeaten, and took another big step towards a return to the top flight after a 16-year absence.
Police and stewards had to break up fighting supporters after Leeds fans infiltrated home areas, as on the pitch Tyler Roberts scored twice in the space of three minutes late on to give a more realistic slant to the scoreline.
The Leeds substitute thrashed home a close-range third before adding a spectacular fourth with a diving header from an 84th-minute Mateusz Klich cross to seal a comfortable victory.
The visitors were rarely troubled once Luke Ayling opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a deflected long-range effort.
Pablo Hernandez, the game’s outstanding performer – who had earlier hit a post with a curling effort – doubled Leeds’ advantage from a narrowing angle two minutes after the restart to stretch Hull’s winless run to 10 league games.
Hull substitute Norbert Balogh struck the post in the second-half, but it was a rare threat from the hosts, who have been dragged into the scrap for survival after failing to record a victory since New Year’s Day.
“We’re up against it at the minute,” Grant McCann, the head coach, said. “We’ve got some big games coming up, and we’ll be up for the challenge.”