Millwall's Neil criticised over racial abuse stoppage comments
Anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out calls on managers to "set the tone" after Millwall boss Alex Neil criticises halting a game following an accusation of abuse.
Key points
- Kick It Out criticised Millwall boss Alex Neil for saying stopping the game over racist abuse kills momentum.
- The Championship match against Swansea was halted for seven minutes after alleged racist chants at Ji-sung Eom.
- Millwall lost 1-0 after conceding a 90th-minute goal once the game restarted.
Anti-racism group Kick It Out has called on football managers to "set the tone" after Millwall manager Alex Neil criticised the decision to stop his team's Championship match against Swansea City on Tuesday. The game at The Den was halted for seven minutes in the second half following reports of racist chants directed at Swansea substitute Ji-sung Eom. The Metropolitan Police is investigating the alleged abuse.
What Neil said
Neil told BBC Radio London that the incident needed to be dealt with, but added: "stopping the game doesn't deal with anything. All it does is kill the momentum." He said he understood an incident had occurred and that authorities would handle it, but he did not see the point of stopping the match. He explained that the referee wanted to speak to the safety officer, and the game restarted after that conversation. Neil also said, "If we score, I probably don't feel this way, let's be honest."
Player welfare should always take precedence over the momentum or flow of a match
— Kick It Out
Kick It Out response
Kick It Out said player welfare should always take precedence over the momentum or flow of a match. The group said it was disappointed by reports of racist abuse towards Eom and welcomed that both clubs condemned the incident. It added that Millwall and match officials followed the right protocols to identify those responsible. Millwall said it was aware of an alleged individual incident of discriminatory abuse and operates a zero-tolerance policy. Swansea head coach Vitor Matos praised the referee and Millwall staff, saying the referee did the right thing and that he was happy with how it was handled but sad it happened.
