It’s been a week since Adam Pope said Kiko Casilla’s FA hearing would be concluded within 24 hours, but we’re still yet to hear a verdict.
The old adage is ‘no news is good news’, but in this case that couldn’t be further from the truth for Leeds United.
The FA haven’t simply forgotten about Casilla, the case is still there to be dealt with, and the longer this goes on, the more danger United are in.
Marcelo Bielsa has stated that he’s confident the Spaniard will be ok to play on Wednesday against Middlesbrough, and once that game is done and dusted there will be just 11 matches to go.
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The problem is that Casilla could face a 12-game ban if he is found guilty, which according to both Phil Hay and Graham Smyth is the most likely outcome.
Therein lies the problem, if the Spaniard’s case continues to be prolonged, Leeds will be in more danger with each passing day.
Now, nobody wants to think about Leeds not getting automatic promotion, but you can’t write off the possibility of United ending up in the playoffs, and as it stands, Casilla could miss the first leg of the semi-final if he is handed a 12-game ban.
If another game goes by before he is sentenced, he’ll miss the second leg, then the final and so on and so forth.
He could even miss the first few games of next term if the FA continue to dawdle with their verdict, and that could be a pain, especially if United are in the Premier League.
Being without your first-choice keeper is never ideal, but not knowing how long he will be banned for or when he will be handed a suspension is very dangerous as we approach the business end of the season.
It’s out of Leeds’ hands, but they should be very wary of this possibility.
In other news, Leeds’ depth issues have been highlighted by one dilemma their rivals are facing.