Eom has strength to move on after alleged racist abuse
Vitor Matos says Eom Jisung has the strength to move on from the alleged racial abuse which marred Swansea City's win at Millwall.
Key points
- Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos says Eom Jisung has the strength to move on from alleged racist abuse at Millwall on Tuesday.
- The Metropolitan Police is investigating the alleged abuse aimed at the South Korea international during Swansea's 1-0 win.
- Eom, an unused substitute at Millwall, will be in contention when Swansea host West Ham United on Saturday.
Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos has said Eom Jisung has the strength to move on from the alleged racist abuse that overshadowed his team's 1-0 win at Millwall on Tuesday. The Metropolitan Police is investigating the alleged abuse directed at the South Korea international at The Den.
Matos said Eom, 24, feels supported at Swansea and described the incident as sad for everyone in football and society. He added that the club reported the allegation and is now focused on moving forward.
What Matos said
Matos said the alleged abuse is a behaviour that unfortunately still happens in the world, and that reporting it is a tool to fight against it. He said Eom, as an adult, understands he needs to speak about such situations and has the strength to move on.
Matos also said Millwall officials did really well to follow the protocol after the alleged abuse was reported in the second half, which caused a delay of around seven minutes before the game resumed. He said he hopes the investigation reaches a conclusion and that Millwall decides what it needs to do.
You have a behaviour that unfortunately nowadays still happens in the world we live in
— Vitor Matos
Context and next match
The incident at Millwall came just over a fortnight after it emerged that the Football Association of Ireland was investigating whether Swansea forward Adam Idah was racially abused by Israel supporters during a Nations League fixture with the Republic of Ireland last month. Matos said he has spoken to Idah, 25, about what occurred in a match played in Serbia, but noted it was a different situation because the referee said he did not hear anything and could not stop the game.
Eom, who was an unused substitute at Millwall, has been in fine form for Swansea this season and helped South Korea win the Asian Games earlier this month. He will be in contention to feature when Swansea, who are top of the Championship, host third-placed West Ham United on Saturday at 15:00 BST.
