Millwall match halted over allegations of racist chanting

Mike McGrathTue, October 13, 2026 at 9:10 PM UTC

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Fourth official Ruebyn Ricardo speaks with Millwall manager Alex Neil (second from left) and Swansea City manager Vitor Matos (far right) - Getty Images/James Fearn

The Championship fixture between Millwall and Swansea City was temporarily halted following an allegation of racist chanting from the stands at The Den.

Referee Edward Duckworth stopped the match between the two promotion-chasing teams in the second half with racist language cited as the reason.

Play was delayed for five minutes by Duckworth in the 67th minute before resuming after the official had approached the technical area, with a security supervisor also in attendance during the stoppage.

The match was goalless at the time, with Brazilian winger Ronald scoring a 90th-minute winner for Swansea – but the win will be overshadowed by the stoppage.

Duckworth will include the incident in his referees’ report which could lead to action from the Football Association if it looks into the matter.

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Last season, Bristol City were fined after an independent regulatory commission upheld an FA charge of “failing to ensure supporters conducted themselves in an orderly fashion” against Cardiff City in the previous campaign. That charge was over derogatory chants aimed at Cardiff owner Vincent Tan.

Also in the 2025-26 season, two matches on the same day in the EFL had play stopped by the referee.

Exeter City’s draw against Reading in League One was paused in the 74th minute after a comment from an away fan at St James Park. In the same division, Wigan Athletic’s defeat by Wycombe Wanderers was halted after a “highly offensive word” was heard.

Millwall manager Alex Neil recently praised the club’s fans after their journey to watch the victory at Preston North End at the weekend.

“For the expenditure and time and difficulties coming up, I was made aware of it, so it is nothing more pleasing than hopefully sending them home happy,” Neil told the BBC. “We appreciate all the efforts they go to.”

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Source: “AOL Sports”