Mario Lemina: Wolves strip midfielder of club captaincy after altercation with Jarrod Bowen in defeat to West Ham

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Mario Lemina has been stripped of the Wolverhampton Wanderers captaincy by manager Gary O'Neil, after the Gabon international was embroiled in an altercation with Jarrod Bowen after the full-time whistle of Wolves' 2-1 defeat to West Ham United. Lemina, formerly of Juventus and Southampton, has since been replaced as skipper by Nelson Semedo, the ex-Barcelona right-back.

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Mario Lemina has lost the captain's armband at Wolverhampton Wanderers following a scuffle that he had with Jarrod Bowen in the aftermath of a 2-1 defeat to West Ham United on Monday.

The Gabonese midfielder wrestled the Hammers captain to the ground when the pair approached each other to shake hands after the full-time whistle, and, as a result, he was stripped of the captaincy by manager Gary O'Neil.

O'Neil has named right-back Nelson Semedo as the new skipper at Molineux, but emphasised that Lemina would remain part of the club's leadership group.

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Wolves find themselves 19th in the Premier League table - in the relegation zone, and four points from safety.

They fell behind on Monday to Tomas Soucek's looping header, before Matt Doherty equalised with 21 minutes to play.

However, Bowen was the match-winner just three minutes later, popping up to steer an effort into the bottom corner.

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Wolves face Ipswich Town, who sit one place above them in the league, next on Saturday.

On Lemina, O'Neil said that he thought the squad would be in a better place with Semedo donning the armband.

"We've decided to move the captaincy to Nelson and Nelson will captain the group from now on," O'Neil told reporters on Friday.

"Of course, the other night sparked the conversation, but it was an important conversation that had to be had.

"Mario and myself have a good understanding now of how we move forward and what it looks like.

"We've spoken a lot this week - me, Mario and some of the other senior players. What happened after the game can't happen.

"We all understand emotions can rise, that we're in a tough moment and everyone's fighting and giving everything under big stress and pressure. But they're scenes we won't see again, definitely.

"The discussions with Mario were good. We get on very well and he's been a big part of what we've been able to do here, especially since I've been here. We have a large amount of respect for each other.

"These things - sometimes they can be tough to deal with and sometimes you can come out of them in a good spot, and I feel like we have [come out in a good spot].

"He'll still be around that group of senior players who lead the team, but at this moment we feel it's best for Nelson to lead the group."

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