Anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out has publicly criticised Millwall manager Alex Neil after he questioned the decision to pause Tuesday's Championship fixture against Swansea City following reports of discriminatory chanting aimed at Swansea substitute Ji-sung Eom.

What happened during the match

The game at The Den was halted for seven minutes midway through the second half after accusations of racist chanting directed at Eom were reported to referee Edward Duckworth. The official held discussions with both sets of coaching staff before pausing play while he sought to pass a message to Millwall's safety officer. Once that contact had been made, the match restarted. An announcement was subsequently made over The Den's public address system confirming there had been alleged discriminatory chanting and that police were working to identify any offenders through CCTV footage. The Metropolitan Police is understood to be investigating the incident.

After the game, which Millwall lost to a 90th-minute goal, Neil expressed frustration with the stoppage itself. Speaking to BBC Radio London, the Millwall manager said: "It needs to get dealt with. Stopping the game doesn't deal with anything. All it does is kill the momentum." He acknowledged an incident had occurred but insisted the disruption served no immediate purpose, adding: "The referee was wanting to speak to whoever the safety officer is, and then when he spoke to him, it restarted. That's partly my frustration. You're not dealing with it down there, are you? It's going to get dealt with after the event anyway."

Neil later conceded, with some candour, that his mood might have been shaped by the result: "If we score, I probably don't feel this way, let's be honest."

Kick It Out response

Kick It Out, which has campaigned for more than three decades to remove discrimination from the game, responded with a direct challenge to that line of thinking. In a statement, the organisation said: "Player welfare should always take precedence over the momentum or flow of a match, and it's essential that managers and all leaders recognise this and set the tone with their language so that everyone can stand up to discrimination."

The group added that protocols exist for good reason: "In that moment, protocols are in place to help match and security officials respond appropriately. That ensures that players are protected and key details are captured so that accountability can follow, regardless of how long it takes."

Kick It Out said it was disappointed by the reports of abuse directed at Eom, but acknowledged that both clubs had condemned the incident and that the correct procedures had been followed on the night.

Club and opposition reactions

Millwall issued a statement confirming they were "aware of an alleged, individual incident of discriminatory abuse towards a Swansea City player during the second half." The club reiterated a zero-tolerance position: "Any individual found to have engaged in such behaviour will face the strongest possible action."

Swansea City head coach Vitor Matos took a notably different tone to Neil in his assessment of how the evening unfolded. "The referee followed the protocol for these sort of situations, they did the right thing," Matos said. "Millwall did the right thing by announcing there is no place for this sort of thing. I'm happy with how it was handled, but really sad that it happened."

A broader question for the game

The episode raises a recurring tension in professional football: how the sport balances the immediate demands of competition with the duty to protect players from abuse. Kick It Out's position is unambiguous. The protocols that led to Tuesday's stoppage, including the referee's communication with ground safety staff and the public announcement to supporters, are specifically designed to log evidence and signal to any potential offenders that incidents are being recorded and acted upon.

Neil's comments, even with his own qualifier about the scoreline, have drawn criticism precisely because managers carry significant influence over how players and supporters perceive those moments. For Eom, the stoppage represented the game's infrastructure acknowledging what he was experiencing. That, Kick It Out argues, is the point.

Frequently asked

Why was the Millwall vs Swansea game stopped on Tuesday?
The match at The Den was paused for seven minutes midway through the second half after reports of racist chanting directed at Swansea City substitute Ji-sung Eom. Referee Edward Duckworth halted play while he contacted Millwall's safety officer, after which the game restarted and an announcement was made over the public address system.
What did Alex Neil say about the racial abuse stoppage?
Millwall manager Alex Neil said he did not see the point in stopping the game, arguing that halting play "kills the momentum" and that the incident would be dealt with after the event regardless. He later acknowledged his frustration may have been influenced by Millwall conceding a 90th-minute goal to lose 1-0.
How did Kick It Out respond to Alex Neil's comments?
Anti-racism campaign group Kick It Out said player welfare must always take precedence over match momentum, and called on managers to "set the tone with their language" so that everyone in the game can stand up to discrimination. The group also said the protocols used during the stoppage are in place to protect players and capture key details for accountability.