Eom Ji-seong acknowledges the crowd after receiving a gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's football awards ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Oct. 3. [Yonhap]
Eom Ji-seong acknowledges the crowd after receiving a gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's football awards ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Oct. 3. [Yonhap]

British police have arrested a man in his 50s on suspicion of racially abusing South Korean footballer Eom Ji-seong, 24, of Swansea City during an English professional football match.

The BBC reported Friday that the London Metropolitan Police arrested a 51-year-old man at a residence in Kent, southeast of London, on Wednesday on suspicion of racially aggravated intentional harassment and causing alarm or distress.

The man was taken to a police station in south London and has since been released on bail pending further investigation until mid-January 2027.

The London Metropolitan Police said it "takes all reports of discriminatory abuse seriously and will work with football clubs and relevant parties to investigate allegations of this nature."

Swansea had earlier announced on Wednesday that allegations of racial abuse directed at Eom during the second half of Saturday's match had been made, following their 2026-27 English Championship (second division) away fixture against Millwall at The Den in south London.

About 20 minutes into the second half, as Eom warmed up near the touchline alongside a teammate, racial chants came from the Millwall home stand, prompting the referee to halt play for around six minutes. CCTV footage was used to identify the perpetrator, and an announcement urging fans not to hesitate when they hear hate speech was broadcast inside the stadium.

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


spa@heraldcorp.com