Wolves pay emotional tribute to Lemina after dad passed away on eve of game

30 December 2023 , 16:10

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Max Kilman paid tribute to Mario Lemaina after scoring the opener

Wolves paid tribute to Mario Lemina's father, who passed away on Friday night, after taking the lead against Everton at Molineux.

Lemina's father had been ill in hospital with the player dedicating his recent Player of the Match award against Chelsea to him. He passed away 24 hours before Wolves took to the pitch with the Gabonese midfielder absent as a result.

Wolves made sure they recognised their player and his family when Max Kilman put them ahead after 25 minutes. The defender ran over to the bench to collect a shirt that had 'Lemina 5' on it, lifting it aloft, whilst the players were also wearing black armbands.

The Molineux crowd also stood up after five minutes to lead a Lemina chant as they went into the break leading against the Toffees.

Wolves announced the sad news in a statement: "Our hearts go out to Mario Lemina after the passing of his father yesterday morning. The whole pack send their love and sympathy to Mario and his family. Mario’s teammates will wear black armbands today in honour of his father’s memory."

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Gary O'Neil had confirmed that Lemina didn't attend training on Friday due to a family issue. He said in his pre-match press conference: "Mario has gone back to France to attend a family issue, I don't want to speak about it too much as it's not my place.

"Mario didn't train today and that's all I can say on it. Around tomorrow it's too early to say, my only thoughts are with Mario and what he needs at this moment. Some things are more important than football matches."

Samuel Meade