Wolves replace Lemina as captain after on-pitch row - sports news foot

Wolves have stripped midfielder Mario Lemina of the captaincy after his altercation on the pitch at the end of Monday night’s defeat at West Ham.

Lemina, 31, clashed with Jarrod Bowen when the pair went to shake hands as tempers boiled over after West Ham’s 2-1 win at the London Stadium.

Lemina apologised earlier in the week but boss Gary O’Neil revealed Nelson Semedo would take the armband going forward, starting with Saturday’s crunch clash with Ipswich.

O’Neil said at his pre-match press conference: “The discussions with Mario were good. We get on very, very well.

“He’s been a big part of what we’ve been able to do here and we have a large amount of respect for each other. Sometimes you can come out of these discussions in a really good spot and I think that we have.

“I have a lot of respect for Mario and what he’s still going to be able to do for us.

“When we get the best out of him on the pitch, his level is so high and he’s still going to play a big part for us which he’s extremely keen to do.

“He’ll still be around the senior group that leads the team, but at this moment we feel it’s best for Nelson to lead the group.

“The most important thing is us getting the best out of everybody – getting the best out of Mario Lemina week in, week out, the same for Nelson and the rest of the group.

“We dealt with it earlier in the week and the focus since has been purely on Ipswich, Mario’s ready, Nelson’s ready and the rest of the players are ready.”

Joao Gomes will miss the clash with suspension, while Jose Sa and Pablo Sarabia remain out along with long-term absentees Yerson Mosquera, Sasa Kalajdzic, Enzo Gonzalez and Bouba Traore.