Millwall manager vents frustration over stoppage in play after racism allegation

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Swansea City’s win at Millwall on Tuesday was marred by allegations of racist chants aimed at winger Eom Ji-sung.The Championship match was stopped for around seven minutes following the incident.Eom was subjected to alleged racist chants during Swansea’s win at MillwallGettyEom had been warming up with his fellow substitutes when he was allegedly targeted by the home crowd.Referee Richard Duckworth immediately stopped play once made aware of the complaint before speaking to both sets of coaches.An announcement was subsequently made over the PA system inside The Den informing supporters that police were working to identify any offenders using CCTV.Alex Neil frustrated with delayMillwall manager Alex Neil spoke to talkSPORT after the match, venting his frustration over the length of the stoppage in play.It is not clear whether Neil was aware the complaint was about racist chanting at the time of his interview.He told talkSPORT’s Ian Abrahams: “There are rules in place, obviously, because there was an incident reported.“The referee tells me he needs to speak to the safety officer and the safety officer comes down. By the time he speaks to the safety officer, the game restarts.“My frustration is that nothing is getting dealt with at that point. We know there has been a complaint. The fourth official has got these documents and all that sort of stuff. Why stop the game for 15 minutes [sic]?“You’re not going to solve it then. Once it’s been reported, I understand them coming over. Tell the fourth official, note that down, ‘this is what happened, blah, blah, blah.’ Get on with the game.“That’s what I think should have happened. If we had won later on, I might not feel that way right now, let’s be honest, but as it stands just now, it’s frustrating.Neil was left frustrated by the length of the stoppage in playGetty“We had good momentum in the game. That incident now takes all the momentum out of the game, basically.”When asked which team the alleged abuse had been aimed at, Neil asked: “Who’s saying racist chanting?” before adding: “I don’t know,” when informed it had been displayed on the stadium’s big screen.Millwall statementMeanwhile, Millwall released a statement on social media following the match.Writing on X, the club said: “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.”Both sets of coaches were spoken to by the officials during the delayGettySwansea boss Vitor Matos praised the referee and Millwall for their handling of the incident at full-time.Speaking to Abrahams, he explained: “The main thing is what the players felt in that moment and what the people around him felt in that moment.“I think that made the referee follow the protocol, which is important in this type of case.“Millwall did as well what a good club needs to do, that is announcing and then trying to make everyone aware of the situation.”Eom remained an unused substitute, but this was not as a result of the alleged chants, Matos confirmed.The Portuguese added: “There’s nothing related with if the player is coming on or not.Matos has praised the officials and Millwall for their handling of the incidentGetty“This is a situation that should not happen in this society. We stand with that. It’s nothing to do with the game.”He continued: “I think we should have already stopped, but football is a big, big part of the society and a big show for the world.“Like in all parts of society there are still these situations, unfortunately for all of us.“So when that happened we are here to stand with for the right things and the right thing today was to make the complaint, follow the protocol and then evaluate the situation.”Swansea went on to claim a 1-0 victory thanks to Ronald’s 90th minute winner.The win leaves the Swans a point clear of Middlesbrough at the top of the table having lost just one of their opening 10 matches.Matos’ side will go in search of a fifth successive victory at home to West Ham United on Saturday.