Jonathan Leko outlines West Brom aim with winger 'moving on' from incident with Leeds United 'keeper Kiko Casilla
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Casilla was handed an eight-game ban and fined £60,000 in February after the FA found him guilty of using racist language towards Charlton Athletic’s then Baggies loanee Leko in the 1-0 loss at The Valley last October.
The allegations were always strongly denied by Casilla but Leko says he is surprised that he has received no apology from Casilla or Leeds.
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Hide AdHowever, the 21-year-old is now keen to put the matter behind him with Leko now hoping for the ideal ending to the season via promotion for West Brom as well as Charlton staying in the Championship.
Leko returned from his loan spell at Charlton to Slaven Bilic’s Baggies at the end of December after injuring his ACL.
“I’m just glad it’s over now,” said Leko in an interview with Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth.
“At the time, I was annoyed how long it took to get dealt with. That probably made me feel bad because nobody was listening to me or taking me seriously.
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Hide Ad“Now I’ve changed my stance and would tell people to report any incident. I had a meeting with the PFA and they say if it happens again, they can speed up the process and get people to help.
“I’ve had lots of support - especially from Charlton. I’ve had nothing from the Leeds United side. It surprises me a little bit as I thought I would get some sort of an apology, but I guess they have to back their player.
“It’s done now and I want to move on. I don’t want to talk it over with him. No - I don’t want to do that.”
Assessing how he would like to see the season concluded, Leko said: “I want West Brom to get promoted and Charlton to stay up.
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Hide Ad“That’s what I want personally. It (relegation) would be so harsh on Charlton because they’ve only just got into the relegation battle so it would be tough on them.
“Slaven Bilic has been really supportive. He’s been asking about my injury and how I’m doing. I’m now just fully focused on the future. Getting back fit and getting ready for next season.”
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