Man in his 50s arrested by British police on suspicion of racism against soccer team member Uhm Seong-seong

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Bae Jin-nam = British police, who were investigating a report of a racist insult directed at Korean national team striker Uhm Um-seong (24, Swansea City) during an England professional soccer match, arrested a man in his 50s.

According to the British broadcaster BBC on the 16th (Korean time), the London Metropolitan Police announced, "A 51-year-old man was arrested at a residence in Kent (southeast of London) on the 14th on charges of intentional racial harassment and causing anxiety or mental distress."

The man was taken to a police station in south London and released on bail until mid-January next year to undergo further investigation.

The Metropolitan Police added: “We take all reports of discriminatory violence seriously and will work with the football club and officials to investigate these types of allegations.”

After the 2026-2027 English Championship (Second Division) away game against Millwall held at The Den in London, England on the 14th, Swansea announced, "Suspicions have been raised that there was a racist insult aimed at Um Ji-seong during the second half of today's game."

In the game that day, which Swansea won 1-0, the game was stopped in the second half when both teams were tied 0-0, and resumed after about 6 minutes.

Uhm Seong Um, a key player in the men's soccer gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, was warming up near the side row with his teammate after being included in Swansea's substitute list.

While the referee was talking about the situation at the time with the second referee and the coaches of both teams, suspicions were raised that racist slogans were uttered in the stadium, and an announcement was made that the police were using closed-circuit television to identify those involved.

A reporting message was also displayed on the stadium electronic display board: ‘Do not hesitate when you hear hate speech.’

After the game, Swansea coach Vitor Matus (Portugal) explained that the reason the game was stopped was due to racist behavior towards Uhm Um-seong.