Kick It Out insist it tried to offer Jonathan Leko support over racist abuse

West Brom forward criticised ‘leading anti-racism bodies’ after receiving ‘no support at all’

Jonathan Leko accused Kick It Out of failing to support him during the case (Getty Images)

Kick It Out insists it did try to contact Charlton concerning the allegations of racist abuse made by Jonathan Leko against Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla.

Leko, who is now back at parent club West Brom because of an injury, criticised Kick It Out, the Professional Footballers' Association and Show Racism The Red Card over what he saw as a lack of support from them.

He was also unhappy with the length of time the disciplinary process took, with the allegation initially made in September and the independent regulatory commission's sanction against Casilla - an eight-match ban - only being announced last Friday.

Leko said he had received "no support at all" from Kick It Out, but the anti-discrimination body said it had made attempts to contact the player via his club at the time.

"Kick It Out did reach out via the proper channels to Charlton within days of the incident to offer our support to Jonathan Leko and we extend him our sympathy as he did not receive the appropriate support he needed during this stressful experience," a statement from the body read.

Leko admitted the "extremely stressful" case had left him questioning whether “whether I would be prepared to go through it all again were I on the receiving end of similar abuse”.

“I certainly would think twice about how to advise another player placed in the same situation.

“From the outset, all I have done is report something that had to be challenged and exposed for what it is – racial abuse. I now want to put the episode behind me and concentrate on recovering from my injury to be ready for next season.”

PA