Man arrested after racism allegations during Millwall vs Swansea City match
Police have confirmed an arrest has been made following reports of alleged racist abuse during Swansea City's victory over Millwall. The match on Tuesday evening was halted for approximately seven minutes midway through the second half after the visiting team reported that South Korean player Um Won-sang heard what he believed to be racist comments directed at him during his warm-up. Millwall Football Club announced at The Den that they had received reports of the alleged abuse, and referee Edward Duckworth also engaged in a lengthy discussion with both managers. Following the incident, both clubs issued statements, and the Metropolitan Police subsequently confirmed an investigation was underway.
"On Wednesday, October 14, a 51-year-old man was arrested at an address in Kent on suspicion of racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. "He was taken to a south London police station and has since been bailed to a date in mid-January, pending further inquiries."
"The Met takes all reports of discriminatory abuse seriously and will work with football clubs and other partners to investigate such allegations."
Swansea City manager Vítor Matos praised the away side's handling of the situation that night. Millwall manager Alex Neil expressed frustration over the interruption of the match, drawing criticism from fans and anti-racism campaigners. Matos emphasized the importance of anti-racism protocols.
"I think when this situation happens, we have a protocol that we can use. You need to use it because it's the way to bring attention to the problem and to try to deal with it. At that moment, football is probably the least important thing compared to everything else."
"I think it's a tool. This kind of problem has existed throughout human history, and we've been trying to solve it. For now, in football, this is the tool we have, so we should use it."
"If a similar incident happens again in the future, we will continue to report it; if the game needs to be stopped, it should be stopped. As long as we have such a tool, we will not change our approach."
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