Leeds United's Kiko Casilla appears before the FA in racism case but hearing won't remove doubt

Whether or not the panel decide that Leeds United’s goalkeeper aimed comments of a racist nature at Jonathan Leko at The Valley in September, doubt will still exist. The standard of proof for FA hearings is based on the balance of probability, meaning that the panel have only to decide that an event was more likely than not. In a criminal matter, which this would surely be had there been sufficient evidence, the standard of proof is much higher – an allegation has to be proven to be true, beyond reasonable doubt. It doesn’t sit right that an allegation of racism, one of the most serious issues football has to tackle, can be decided on the basis that it was more likely to have happened than not. It doesn’t sit right that a man’s reputation rests on the balance of probability. Both parties, Casilla and Leko, need the allegation to be dealt with properly. Football’s tribalism means that, even when an issue is dealt with in a court of law, there will be those in the stands of football grounds and on social media who cast doubt on verdicts or worse, hurl abuse at victims. The repeated airing of “Anton Ferdinand, you know what you are,” by Chelsea fans in the wake of allegations of racism made by the then-QPR defender against then-Chelsea defender John Terry, is a perfect, if utterly shameful, example. Songs sung supposedly in support of ex-Sheffield United striker Ched Evans when he was found guilty of rape, before a retrial found him not guilty, were as abhorrent as the songs aimed at him following his return to football, songs sung out of tribalistic football hatred and not any kind of feminism. You can put good money on similar songs filling the air when Casilla plays in front of opposition fans, if the FA hearing finds him guilty, just as some Leeds supporters will undoubtedly still sing his name, particularly loudly, in the same eventuality. And even in the event that the game’s authorities side with Leko, he could find himself being trolled or booed by a moronic minority – the reception Patrice Evra got from some Liverpool fans years after Luis Suarez was found guilty of racially abusing the Manchester United player is one high-profile and distasteful precedent. And that particular case shows the minefield Leeds United must now cross as a club when Casilla’s hearing is done. They have taken racism seriously this season – a supporter who was filmed racially abusing an opposition player and reported to both Kick It Out and the club, by a fellow United fan, was handed a lifetime ban from Elland Road. The way they treat an employee, who denies ever making racist remarks, who hasn’t been proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt, has to be and will be different. Liverpool very publicly backed their man in 2011, when first-team players wore t-shirts in support of Suarez, 24 hours after he was handed an eight-game ban by the FA. Jamie Carragher apologised to Evra on television in October last year, admitting that his club had got it “massively wrong”. Leeds have a duty of care to their player, who has had this allegation hanging over his head for almost five months, and a reasonable amount of justification to support him no matter the verdict, due to a standard of proof they have taken issue with through chief executive Angus Kinnear, but they must handle the fallout with sensitivity, show respect for Leko and uphold their own standards and policies when it comes to racism in the game. If Leko and his then-Charlton Athletic team-mate Macauley Bonne heard Casilla using racist language then of course they were right to report it and the FA is absolutely right to investigate. But their standard of proof and the doubt that will linger over this case feels more like a potential barrier standing in the way of those who want to report such instances to the Football Association. Only Leko, the alleged victim in this case, will be able to say if a guilty verdict from the FA affords him a satisfactory level of justice. Casilla, if found guilty, will be banned for several games but his real punishment will be to carry the stigma of this allegation with him forever. Both men deserve to have the truth of what happened on September 28 proven, beyond doubt.

Leeds United's Kiko Casilla appears before the FA in racism case but hearing won't remove doubt - Graham Smyth