Wolves captain Mario Lemina has issued an apology following post-match clashes following the club’s 2-1 defeat against West Ham on Monday night.
The Hammers took all three points in a crunch clash at the London Stadium, with Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen scoring for the hosts.
Matt Doherty had levelled for Wolves after Soucek’s opener, by Gary O’Neil’s side slipped to a 10th Premier League defeat of the season to remain 19th in the table.
After the final whistle, tempers boiled over as Lemina and Bowen clashed during the post-match handshakes, with the two captains wrestling each other to the ground.
Lemina had then pushed away team-mates Nelson Semedo and Toti in the aftermath, before squaring up to Shaun Derry, Wolves first team coach.
Wolves captain has now taken to social media to issue an apology to the club and Derry, while he maintained that Bowen was at fault for their confrontation.
Mario Lemina and Jarrod Bowen clashed at full-time after Wolves match at West Ham
Lemina has claimed Bowen had grabbed him and thrown him to the floor post-match
West Ham captain Bowen had blamed Lemina for the scuffle after West Ham’s 2-1 victory
‘This morning, I write this message with great hindsight and I really want to apologize to all the people who love this club and who love football,’ Lemina wrote on Instagram.
‘I never wanted this to happen on the ground, I have always been a fair player, even in defeat.
‘If something is said, make sure the truth comes out.
‘I shook this player’s hand, like I always do and I was grabbed and thrown to the ground. I just reacted to a situation that I didn’t cause at all.
‘I love my team the staff and all the people who make up this club.
‘We all gonna fight harder to overcome this situation. Shaun you already know, we gonna fight again and again.’
Speaking after the game, West Ham captain Bowen suggested the fault for the confrontation was Lemina’s.
‘I just went to shake his hand after the game. He didn’t want to shake my hand, two captains together just to say “well done” after the game,’ Bowen told Sky Sports.
The Wolves captain has now issued an apology to the club and Derry after the incident
Lemina had been led away by his team-mates following the post-match confrontation
‘I know it’s difficult when you lose. I’ve been on the end of that situation.’
Wolves boss O’Neil added: ‘Mario is calm now. He’s a passionate guy and something was said that upset him.
‘The instinct of the staff was to make sure he didn’t get into trouble, but he took some calming down.
‘Staff players, everyone understands that things like that can happen, especially in the heat at the moment.’
The defeat leaves Wolves four points from safety and ramped up pressure further on under-fire boss O’Neil.
Wolves face a crunch clash against fellow relegation rivals Ipswich Town on Saturday, with the sides locked on nine points.
The Premier League strugglers then face Leicester City, who are five points clear in 16th.
