Eom Ji-sung targeted by alleged racist abuse in England

South Korea forward Eom Ji-sung of Swansea City was allegedly subjected to racist abuse during an English Championship match, prompting a temporary stoppage and a police investigation.

Swansea said after its away match against Millwall at The Den in London on Tuesday that “an allegation of racist abuse directed at Eom Ji-sung was reported during the second half of today’s game.”

“The club condemns all forms of discrimination and makes clear that such behavior has no place in soccer or anywhere in our society,” Swansea said.

Millwall also said through its official channels that it was aware of the incident and operates a zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of discrimination.

“The club will take the strongest possible action against anyone found responsible for such behavior,” Millwall said, adding that police were investigating the incident.

The referee stopped the match in the 65th minute with the score tied 0-0.

Eom, who was among Swansea’s substitutes, was warming up with a teammate near the touchline at the time.

The referee approached the fourth official to discuss the situation and also spoke with the managers of both teams.

According to British media, including the BBC, an announcement was made inside the stadium saying there had been a report of racist chanting and that police were using CCTV footage to identify those involved.

A message urging spectators to report hate speech without hesitation was also displayed on the stadium screen.

Play resumed about six minutes later.

After the match, Swansea manager Vitor Matos said the stoppage had been caused by racist abuse directed at Eom.

“We all know this is unacceptable. These situations should not happen,” Matos said. “We will stand by our player and support him.”

Eom did not play in the match. Swansea won 1-0 to move to 23 points with seven wins, two draws and one loss, retaining first place in the league.

Eom played a leading role in South Korea’s fourth consecutive Asian Games men’s soccer gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games earlier this month, recording four goals and four assists, including the winner in a 1-0 victory over Japan in the final.

(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)