Millwall's Neil criticised over racial abuse stoppage comments

When he was alerted to the accusations, referee Edward Duckworth had lengthy discussions with both sets of coaches and paused the match while he waited to pass a message on to Millwall's safety officer.

Following the stoppage, an announcement was made over the speakers at The Den confirming there had been alleged chants of racism and that police were working to identify any offenders using CCTV.

"I understand, obviously, there's been an incident," Neil said. "That's not something I'm going to get involved in - that'll be for the authorities to deal with.

"But the fact that it stops the game, I just don't see the point.

"The referee was wanting to speak to whoever the safety officer is, and then when he spoke to him, it [the game] restarted.

"That's partly my frustration. I want to get the game restarted, I want to get the game played.

"I understand there's other things that are going on, but you're not dealing with it down there, are you? It's going to get dealt with after the event anyway."

After the match restarted, Millwall went on to concede a 90th-minute goal to lose 1-0.

"If we score, I probably don't feel this way, let's be honest," Neil added.

Kick It Out, which has campaigned for more than 30 years to eradicate racism from football, said it was disappointed to hear reports of racist abuse towards Eom.

"Both clubs have condemned the incident, and it's positive that Millwall and match officials followed the right protocols so that action can be taken to identify any individual responsible," the organisation said.

"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."