Millwall manager Alex Neil has sparked outrage after bemoaning the decision to halt his side's defeat to Swansea City due to allegations of racist abuse aimed at visiting winger Eom Jisung. The game was stopped when Eom, who was among the Swansea substitutes, had been allegedly abused while warming up on the side of the pitch.
Referee halts play for seven minutes
Referee Edward Duckworth brought the game to a halt before holding lengthy discussions with both sets of coaches, with the game paused for around seven minutes in total. An announcement was then made over the speakers confirming there had been an allegation of racism.
Swansea went on to win the game courtesy of a last-minute winner from substitute Ronald, and Neil appeared to claim the stoppage was a factor in his side's defeat.
Neil's comments spark backlash
"I understand there's been an incident," he told the BBC. "It's not something I'm going to get involved in. That'll be for he authorities to deal with. But the fact that it stops the game for 15 minutes. I just don't see the point. It needs to get dealt with, absolutely, but stopping the game doesn't deal with anything. All it does is kill the momentum... Listen, if we score I probably don't feel this way, but that's how I feel just now."
His comments have sparked a huge backlash on social media. "Alex Neil not exactly doing Millwall's reputation (or his own for that matter) any good with such a flippant response to an allegation of racist abuse," said one fan. "Surely Alex should be calling out racism, not moaning about loss of momentum," another said. "Extremely poor from Neil," concluded another.
Another wrote: "Poor from Alex Neil. For a start it wasn't 15 minutes. Stopping the game is also a deterrent for others doing the same thing in the future, as a light gets shone on them. Some things are bigger than a game of football."
Millwall and Swansea statements
Millwall were a little stronger in their response as a club. In a statement, the club said they were working with authorities to investigate the incident, adding they had a "zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discriminatory abuse".
"Millwall Football Club is aware of an alleged, individual incident of discriminatory abuse towards a Swansea City player during the second-half of Tuesday evening's Sky Bet Championship match. The club operates a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discriminatory abuse. Any individual found to have engaged in such behaviour will face the strongest possible action. The club is working alongside the relevant authorities to establish the facts and is unable to comment further as tonight's alleged incident is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, which the club fully supports."
Meanwhile, Swansea say they are giving Eom their "unstinting love and support". Swansea released a statement late on Tuesday, praising the way the incident was dealt with by Millwall and police. "During the second half of this evening's Championship fixture at Millwall, Swansea City reported an alleged incident of racist abuse aimed at Jisung Eom. As a club we condemn racism and discrimination in all forms, and there is no place for such behaviour in football or in society. The club wants to place on record its thanks for the swift and decisive manner in which the match officials, Millwall Football Club and the police dealt with the incident. We will now follow all protocols and processes and provide whatever assistance we can to all parties as the incident is investigated. We stand with Jisung, and he has our unstinting love and support."
