Mario Lemina apologises after bust-up with Jarrod Bowen and Wolves coach before taking aim

Mario Lemina was involved in a scuffle with Jarrod Bowen after Wolves lost to West Ham (Image: Getty)

Wolves skipper Mario Lemina has apologised on social media after clashing with West Ham's Jarrod Bowen and one of his own coaching staff after Monday’s loss at the London Stadium.

Post-game tensions boiled over with Lemina and Hammers captain Bowen clashing and throwing one another to the floor, leading to yellow cards for both players as team-mates intervened to defuse the situation.

Compounding Wolves’ misery, Bowen's goal sealed victory for West Ham in a night marred by contentious refereeing decisions. To add to the drama after the loss, Lemina found himself in a confrontation with assistant manager Shaun Derry, an altercation broken up with the assistance of fellow player Toti Gomes.

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Lemina took to Instagram just a day later to reach out to supporters and the broader football community: "I write this message with great hindsight, and I really want to apologise to all the people who love this club and who love football," declared Lemina. "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, as I always do, and I was grabbed by the shirt and thrown to the ground. I just reacted to a situation that I didn't cause at all.

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"I love my team, the staff and all the people who makeup this club. We [are] all gonna fight harder to overcome this situation. Shaun you already know. We gonna fight again and again."

Wolves' first penalty appeal came after a challenge from Emerson on Goncalo Guedes, with VAR ruling the offence happened just outside the area.

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Wolves equalised moments later, with Matt Doherty levelling things up after Tomas Soucek gave West Ham the lead, while a second appeal from the visitors at 2-1 - when Jean-Ricner Bellegarde went down under a Konstantnos Mavropanos challenge - also went unpunished.

"I will try and go in and have a chat with them [the officials] to get their thoughts on how it ended up where it was," Gary O'Neil told Match of the Day. "It's not going to help us.

"We need to find way to turn the game in our favour. A combination of us not quite doing enough and the decisions go with West Ham, we leave with nothing."

O'Neil also felt Santiago Bueno had been unfairly challenged by Mavropanos moments before West Ham's winner. "I can understand there can be grey areas and the wordings of the rule can be interpreted in many ways. But that is a blatant foul on Bueno in the build-up to a goal," he told Sky Sports.

Mario Lemina apologises after bust-up with Jarrod Bowen and Wolves coach before taking aim

Mario Lemina apologises after bust-up with Jarrod Bowen and Wolves coach before taking aim

Mario Lemina apologises after bust-up with Jarrod Bowen and Wolves coach before taking aim

Mario Lemina apologises after bust-up with Jarrod Bowen and Wolves coach before taking aim

Mario Lemina apologises after bust-up with Jarrod Bowen and Wolves coach before taking aim