Portsmouth’s John Mousinho reports alleged ‘discriminatory language’ by Millwall fans during the Championship fixture on Saturday.
The Pompey head coach was reportedly ‘incensed’ after hearing discriminatory language from Millwall fans behind the dug-out during his team’s 2-1 loss at The Den.
He reported the issue to referee Ben Toner and fourth official Alan Dale during the Championship match, causing a brief stoppage in play.
Mousinho publicly criticised the behaviour and was dissatisfied with Millwall’s response, as the comments persisted.
He has called on the FA to take stronger action against such incidents rather than just offering empty promises.
#Pompey boss John Mousinho has called for action after accusing Millwall fans of using ‘discriminatory language’ in today’s match at The Den. https://t.co/gG0o3Rb5kR
— Neil Allen (@pn_neil_allen) April 5, 2025
Mousinho said to the The News after the game: “The reason I spoke to the ref was there was discriminatory language coming from behind the dug-out.
“The second time I reported it to the fourth official and it kept happening. I don’t know if we want to take discrimination seriously or not, the response there wasn’t serious, it was a joke.
“Not from the officials, by the way, they did their job. I think we just pay lip service to it and do nice videos and that’s it.
“I’ve come across it very rarely in football. What’s the point, no-one does anything about it, so what’s the point? I have seen it with my own eyes today, I reported it, no-one did anything about it, it kept happening, kept happening, kept happening.
“It’s as simple as I can make it.”
The result left Pompey sitting 17th in the Championship, four points above the drop zone with six matches remaining. Millwall meanwhile are 9th and 6 points from the playoff places.
Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent:
“I’m incredibly frustrated. It feels like deja vu from three weeks ago at Preston and that’s the most frustrating thing.
“After going a goal down we clicked into gear and started to play really well, which is a frustration anyway. We were far too predictable in the first half.
“I can accept us losing goals in a certain way but the way we conceded that second goal – we defended the set-play well until the second phase and left four v one at the back post.
“I can’t understand how we’re playing so well in certain moments and then really losing focus towards the back end of the game.”
Mousinho, per Sky Sports:
“It feels like a bit of deja vu from a few weeks ago, to be honest.
“The performance at Preston was better, we didn’t play particularly well in the first half today – I thought we were a bit too predictable.
“We went long too early on without trying to get the extra pass and we started the second half a bit slowly as well.
“It wasn’t actually until we went a goal down that we started to play.
“We started to play with a bit of confidence, we started to get the ball forward and put Millwall under pressure.
“We should have scored before we got the equaliser and then it was a case of getting back into the game and throwing it away again.”
Millwall’s Alex Neil:
“Any 20-year-old that leads the line in the Championship and can get nearly [10 goals], and he [Ivanovic] will get double figures before the end of the season.
“If you do that, that’s an unbelievable season and it won’t be surprising me if people start talking about him.
“I’ve already seen something the other day talking about the top 10 young talents in Europe – he’s one of them.
“He’s 20 years of age, there are very few strikers at that age that will lead the line at this level and also score goals, so he deserves all the plaudits he gets.
“It was a particularly tight game today and I think physicality was the order of the day, hence the reason why I wasn’t making changes earlier because the players I was bringing on were all smaller.
“I didn’t want to take that risk, but I thought when they did come on, they impacted the game really well.”
EFL STATEMENT:
English football stands united in its determination to tackle racism and remove all forms of discrimination from our game. Throughout October and beyond, The FA, Premier League, English Football League and Kick it Out will reinforce the message that hate and discrimination will not be tolerated at any level of football and action will be taken against perpetrators.
Alongside PGMOL, Professional Footballers’ Association, League Managers Association and the Football Supporters’ Association, the football organisations are urging fans and participants to report discrimination wherever they see it or hear it, to help make football a safer place for everyone.
All organisations are actively working with clubs and authorities, and remain committed to collaborating further with each other, to ensure those who are found guilty of racist or discriminatory behaviour face strong consequences for their actions.
Sanctions include stadium bans, legal prosecutions and custodial sentences for those found guilty of discriminatory behaviour in either the stadium or online, with additional potential points deductions for clubs within the grassroots game. Education and restorative justice initiatives will also be implemented where appropriate.
This builds on the ongoing work to address unacceptable, discriminatory and illegal behaviour across the game, under the football-wide Love Football. Protect the Game initiative, which aims to ensure that the actions of the minority do not spoil the game for all.
In recent years, football authorities have worked as a group to combat online abuse, and most recently we have lobbied the UK Government extensively in the development of the Online Safety Bill. We will continue to pressure social media companies to do more to tackle hate on their platforms.
But we recognise we can do more. Collectively, we’re deeply committed to ensuring our game is representative of modern society by offering equality of opportunity across the whole of football.
Together, we will continue our work to make football a safer, more welcoming, and more enjoyable space for everyone.
