Phil Hay shares why Casilla hearing was delayed and what likely outcome is after latest holdup
Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla is still waiting for the verdict from the FA after his case for alleged racist abuse was heard last week.
The alleged incident came from the game against Charlton last September and it’s come as a surprise to everyone that it’s not been sorted yet.
However, talking on the latest episode of his podcast, Athletic journalist Phil Hay revealed that it was Leeds who were responsible for delaying the hearing in the first instance because of the amount of evidence they submitted.
“It’s strange really because the case was heard last Wednesday, there were legal arguments on Thursday, everyone, certainly at the Leeds end thought there could be a verdict on Thursday evening and if not potentially on Friday, and if not then certainly by the start of this week,” Hay said.
“We are getting close to the Hull game and the closer you get to a game the less likely the FA are going to drop it onto a club a few hours before kick-off.
“One reason this was delayed was the amount of evidence that Leeds submitted for Casilla and you should never pretend that they were trying to expedite this. It suited them to get into December and the transfer window, although Meslier has stepped up in the Arsenal game since then.”
This doesn’t explain why the verdict is taking so long to come from the FA but the thinking that the latest holdup could be good news for Casilla isn’t shared by Hay.
“The prevailing mood is that he will still get banned for this because of the evidence by Jonathan Leko and Macauley Bonne who both say they heard what was said and maintain that Casilla made racist comments. Casilla has denied it, he’s always denied it.”
The thing we find most odd about this is that the FA haven’t given any indication about when a verdict might get announced.
That seems bizarre for a case that Hay thinks is fairly routine.
It doesn’t seem fair on the players – either Casilla or Leko – and it’s certainly not fair on Leeds.
Casilla can appeal if the verdict goes against him and that could buy him another four or five weeks if the Fernando Forestieri case is anything to go by.
However, that would push the ban to the final five or six games of the season and you have to ask whether Leeds would want Meslier coming in for those high-pressure games and possibly – heaven forbid – the play-offs.
They could just decide to accept any ban and move on.
The ideal solution would be if the FA came out and said the verdict would come in the summer, but that’s highly unlikely to happen.
In other Leeds United news, ‘It is true’ – Phil Hay: This is what I’ve been told about Bielsa and Real Betis