‘Could be a reason he went back?’, ‘Blimey’ – Some Leeds fans react to Nketiah role in FA report
Leeds United fans are finally able to view the written reasons behind the FA’s decision to ban Kiko Casilla for eight matches over the alleged racial abuse of Jonathan Leko.
The report, on the FA’s website, has detailed what Casilla was alleged to have called Leko while he was on loan at Charlton when Leeds played at The Valley on September 28.
In the FA’s findings, it was listed who was used as witnesses for both them and Casilla and, strangely, ex-Leeds loanee Eddie Nketiah was listed as a witness for the governing body and not his former team-mate.
Nketiah returned to Arsenal in January but he was in the Leeds squad when the incident occurred at Charlton in September.
The FA’s report details what Nketiah said when he was asked for his account of the incident.
“[I] noticed [Casilla] was involved in a bit of back and forward with [Leko]. I think that
JL was backing into KC and KC was moving him off him. I think there were a few words which were being said between the two of them, but I don’t recall hearing anything specific as this was just normal behaviour at a corner. I recall that the referee came over to speak to them, but I assumed that this was because of the back and forth that I just described. I couldn’t hear what the referee said to them,” said Nketiah.
It is odd that he’s been listed as a witness for the FA based on that statement, but it seems his statement wasn’t really anything of note that had any major sway in the outcome.
Leeds fans have been reacting to noticing this about Nketiah in the report and most of them are shocked to see it.
Have the FA made a mistake? Or did they see Nketiah as their witness simply because he no longer plays for Leeds?
Either way, we doubt it had any impact on him being recalled by Arsenal in January. That was purely a footballing decision.
Here is a selection of tweets by Leeds fans:
https://twitter.com/Tori_Lufc/status/1234901591817322496
In other Leeds United news, the FA have detailed a WhatsApp conversation between Leko and Tyler Roberts after the incident.