Chris Hughton wants the Football Association to look into the derogatory chanting Gaetan Bong received during Brighton’s game against West Brom.
The defender was subjected to boo when he came on as a substitute in the Seagulls’ 3-1 extra time FA Cup fourth round replay win at the Hawthorns.
It was Bong’s first return to the stadium since he accused Baggies striker Jay Rodriguez of a racist comment last season.
Rodriguez was charged by the Football Association but the allegation was “not proven” having claimed he told Bong his breath smelled and some Albion fans were heard singing Bong was a “smelly b******” on Wednesday.
And Hughton has called for football’s governing body to investigate Wednesday night’s distasteful chants at his left-back.
He said: “I heard them, it was very difficult not to.
“It is not nice. One thing the game has done very well is picking up on anything it needs to.
“The original case has been dealt with very well by FA, put behind us, but unfortunately with the nature of the game we hear things that are unfair.
“That becomes the responsibility of others. It is down to the governors of our game to deal with. Gaetan is an upright, respectable individual.”
Brighton fans also aimed chants at Rodriguez, calling him a racist, and West Brom boss Darren Moore insisted he did not hear the songs towards Bong.
He said: “I didn’t hear the chant. I heard the chorus of boos. We know what the incident was.
“The game is finished and over with, we move on. We can’t let these things overshadow the game.”
Brighton progressed after Glenn Murray scored twice in extra time to set up a fifth round visit of Derby next week.
Florin Andone had levelled after Kyle Bartley’s odd opener, where the defender hooked in from point blank range while almost standing off the pitch.
But Andone was lucky to still be on the pitch after catching Sam Field with a first-half elbow.
“Normally if there’s any incident generally I know about it. I haven’t seen it and no-one has mentioned it to me,” added Hughton.
The Baggies hit the crossbar through Hal Robson-Kanu after Leon Balogan also hit the woodwork for the visitors.
The hosts played the final 20 minutes of extra time with 10 men after Robson-Kanu limped off with the Baggies having made all their changes.
Moore added: “There were some youngsters who performed admirable for the club. It looked we’d be able to see the game out but I knew the pressure would come.
“When it did come there was a little bit of indecision by us and they showed why they are where they are in the Premier League.”