Wolves change confirmed by Gary O’Neil after controversy v West Ham United
Wolves manager Gary O’Neil has confirmed Mario Lemina is no longer his side’s captain after the full-time incident involving he and Jarrod Bowen against West Ham United.
At the final whistle of the Hammers’ crucial 2-1 win at the London Stadium [9 December], Lemina and Bowen clashed over a handshake refusal from the Wolves man, before the visitors’ assistant Shaun Derry was forced to restrain him on the pitch.
Former Irons midfielder O’Neil provided the update in his pre-match press conference before Wolves host Ipswich Town.
As quoted on X by the Express & Star’s Liam Keen [13 December], O’Neil said: “We can’t see the scenes at West Ham, but I get on well with Mario. We have a huge respect for each other.
“Mario is fine, it was a conversation and nothing more. The other night sparked the conversation, but it was one that had to be had. We now move forward and we’ve dealt with it.”
West Ham furore causes captaincy change at Wolves
O’Neil implies in his comments that the intention was for Wolves to discuss the long-term captaincy with Lemina anyhow, though it was very likely to be Monday which played almost the sole part.
Nelson Semedo will now captain his side, while the Hammers seek some consistency after their vital win with a return from their visit to Bournemouth on Monday [16 December].
The scuffle between the two skippers Bowen and Lemina rarely happens these days in the way it did last Monday night, but exemplified what was at stake between the two clubs.
The fixture was branded “El Sackico” in the broadcast media, though Wolves have given O’Neil a public showing of faith – for how long this applies remains a mystery.
And Lopetegui is far from out of the woods yet – the Spaniard remains on the precipice in East London and a poor display at Bournemouth will have the jeers amplified back to their previous volume.
In other West Ham news, an update on the Hammers’ January pursuit of Luizao.
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