West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen apologised and said he had to set a “better example” after attempting to confront fans following defeat at Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
Bowen had to be held back by team-mates following the 3-2 defeat at Molineux, which continued West Ham’s miserable start to the season.
The winger appeared to point towards a fan and then attempted to vault an advertising hoarding to approach the travelling supporters.
West Ham had lost their opening two games of the Premier League season – including an embarrassing 5-1 home defeat to Chelsea where some fans turned on the team – before their early exit from the Carabao Cup.
Bowen took to Instagram to apologise shortly after the final whistle and said: “I’m someone who is passionate and will fight every time I step on the pitch. But I need to set a better example and you fans know how much I love you and this club!”
West Ham manager Graham Potter, who is now under further pressure, played down the incident and described Bowen as a “fantastic captain, servant, player and person for the club”.
“Our supporters have been fantastic,” said Potter. “They are hurting because of the results we have had and Jarrod obviously cares about the club and the team. He gave everything again and it was just an exchange of views by people who care.
“The most important relationship at a club is between the fans and the team. We need our fans and everyone to stick together.
“The team is suffering at the moment. We are all hurting, I can assure you no-one is celebrating or happy about what we’re doing. We’re all in pain.”
Jorgen Strand Larsen had come off the bench to earn Wolves a 3-2 second-round victory.
Rodrigo Gomes’ strike after Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty had come back off a post had given Vitor Pereira’s side an early advantage in the battle of the Premier League’s bottom two, but headers from Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta turned the game on its head.
However, Strand Larson, the subject of a rejected big-money bid from Newcastle, had the final say with goals after 82 and 84 minutes to condemn the Hammers to a third defeat of the new season.
Includes reporting from PA
