The Spanish goalkeeper of Leeds United, Kiko Casilla , has been sanctioned with eight matches and a fine of 60,000 pounds - almost 70,000 euros - for making racist comments against Charlton Athletic player Jonathan Leko , as confirmed by the English Federation (FA) on Friday ).

According to the federation, the former Real Madrid goalkeeper breached rule E3 of the FA statutes , which includes violations of the regulation in "reference to race and ethnicity", during the Championship match against Charlton Athletic of September 2019

Despite the allegations of the Leeds, the Tarragona goalkeeper has been penalized with eight penalty matches and fined 69,658 euros, and must attend a reeducation session. The English club accepted the sanction of the player, although he recalled that Casilla never acknowledged having uttered such insults. "We do not tolerate any form of discrimination within our club, we are leaders in the fight against discrimination. However, it is important to recognize that Kiko has always denied making racist comments ," he says.

"The FA panel has based its decision on the balance of probability instead of proving that Kiko is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt, which we have always believed to be the most appropriate burden of proof," he concludes.

"The 5 most difficult months"

After knowing the decision, Casilla showed his sadness for the verdict. "I feel sad and devastated for having been found guilty of allegedly making a racist comment during the game last September against Charlton," he said through social networks, where he stressed that racism "should not be tolerated" in the Sport or in society.

In addition, he said he understood the process carried out by the FA and was "totally in favor of any persecution to eliminate this scourge of racism." "However, I want to say that these five months have been the most difficult of my professional career, and I don't feel at all that the guilty verdict is a reflection of what really happened, " he said.

"I am sure that my family, friends, colleagues and technical bodies with whom I have worked all these years in my professional career know that I would NEVER use words with racist meaning and connotations , and that my respectful behavior towards the rival since I started my career. The race has always been honest and with the maximum fair play, "he said, and ended by thanking his" support "for Leeds and the fans, which makes him feel" stronger in difficult times. "

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