Mario Lemina stripped off the Wolves captaincy after Bowen altercation by under-pressure boss Gary O’Neill.
Mario Lemina has been stripped off the Wolves captaincy, He will be replaced by defender Nelson Semedo.
Lemina and Jarrod Bowen of West Ham got into a fight after the final whistle of Monday’s 2-1 loss at London Stadium, which led to the decision.
With Wolves in second place in the Premier League, O’Neil has been under a lot of strain at Molineux, and this is his most recent issue.
“We’ve decided to move the captaincy to Nelson and Nelson will captain the group from now on,” said O’Neil, who only handed Lemina the armband in the summer.
“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.”
O’Neil thinks Wolves will be in a better position with 31-year-old Semedo as captain, while former Southampton star Lemina will continue to be a member of the squad’s leadership group.
Former Southampton player Lemina will remain part of the squad’s leadership group and O’Neil believes Wolves will be in a better place with 31-year-old Semedo as skipper.
He added: “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.”
Wolves host Ipswich at Molineux with O’Neil been backed by chairman Jeff Shi this week, and he said a sense of perspective remains at Molineux.
O’Neil says, “I am pretty sure if I am put into a situation where I am free spending. I was cherry-picking Premier League players and we had won three games I’d have lost my job a while ago.”