Kick It Out criticises Millwall boss Neil over racism stoppage comments

Kick It Out has criticised Millwall head coach Alex Neil for saying a stoppage over alleged racist abuse killed his team's momentum.

Swansea City won 1-0 at The Den on Tuesday night. Ronald scored a late winner after the game restarted. The result was overshadowed by a seven-minute suspension in the second half, The Guardian reported.

Referee Edward Duckworth halted play in the 65th minute. He then spoke with both managers, the fourth official and a safety officer. The stoppage followed reports of abusive chants aimed at Swansea midfielder Eom Ji-sung, a South Korean winger.

Neil told BBC Radio London that stopping the game does not deal with anything. All it does is kill momentum, he said. Neil also said the alleged abuse had been reported and was not acceptable.

Kick It Out, which has campaigned for more than 30 years to eradicate racism from football, said player welfare should always take precedence over the momentum or flow of a match. The group called on managers to set the tone when racist abuse is reported.

The organisation added that both clubs had condemned the incident. It said Millwall and the match officials followed the right protocols on the night.

Millwall said the club operates a zero-tolerance policy towards discriminatory abuse. Any individual found to have engaged in such behaviour will face the strongest possible action, the club said. The alleged incident is the subject of an ongoing police investigation.

Swansea head coach Vítor Matos backed the referee's decision. He said Duckworth followed the protocol and did the right thing, BBC Sport reported. Swansea also reported alleged racial abuse towards Eom during the game.

What makes this stand out is the clash of priorities. Managers live for momentum, that spell when a team is on top and the crowd senses a goal. Anti-racism groups and the game's protocols say protecting the targeted player must come first, even if it breaks up the match.