John Mousinho apologizes to the assistant referee after an incident in the draw against Oxford

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho apologized to assistant referee Bhupinder Singh Gill for an alleged discriminatory comment in the stands during Portsmouth's 1-1 draw with Oxford.

Singh Gill alerted referee Lewis Smith to alleged offensive comments made towards him during the second half at Fratton Park. The association later asked for information to identify those responsible.

Smith stopped play and reported the comments to the fourth official before Tannoy made an announcement to warn spectators of bad behavior.

“A discriminatory comment was made to the linesman,” Smith confirmed.

“I think something was said to the linesman on the other side,” Mousinho said of the incident.

“I apologized to the linesman after the game if anything was said and I know it will be dealt with appropriately.

“We heard Tannoy’s announcement and everyone here will tolerate it.”

Oxford head coach Des Buckingham added: “It’s not my place to say that. There were comments made that the referee felt were reportable, but I’ll leave that sorting to the referees.”

Portsmouth later released a statement saying: “Portsmouth FC is appealing to its fans for information after a racist comment was heard at today's game.”

“The game was abandoned in the 77th minute after the comment was directed at one of the assistant referees from Block E or F in the North Lower.”

The incident marked a negative outcome to an otherwise entertaining encounter in which Louie Sibley scored his first Oxford goal, canceling out Brighton loanee Mark O'Mahony's second of the week.

Sibley was only on the pitch for 128 seconds before he fired a bolt from the edge of the penalty area to secure the point.

Buckingham said of Sibley: “He had to be so patient all season and watch others carry on before him.

“It was a wonderful finish from Louie. I see it every day in training.

“The goalkeepers tell him in shooting practice to wait a bit because he has an absolute killer shot.”

The U's had lost their first three away games following promotion from League One but after ending that run against Luton on Tuesday, Buckingham is happy with the direction his side have taken.

He said: “I think it's a good point for us away from home against a team who caught up with us last year, and that's after three games in seven days.”

“We played a lot better and didn’t get away with anything in this league. That's why I'm very happy to have scored a point.

“I think at home we showed what kind of team we are and how important these home points will be for us and if we can get results away from home we will get to where we want to be.”

Pompey could have taken the lead within four minutes when Elias Sorensen saw his penalty saved – and even after O'Mahony's header they were twice deflected off the line and hit the post.

After a 6-1 humiliation against Stoke in the week, Mousinho was happy to have more control but was disappointed not to win for the first time this season.

The former U's defender said: “I felt like we had good control of the game and looked like we were going to score a second goal but we weren't good enough to do that. “I'm really disappointed and we need to do better .

“We're puzzled when the chances don't go in, especially the double free throw from the line and the one that hit the inside post – which we all thought was in.”