Albion boss Chris Hughton has declared his support for Gaetan Bong after the defender was subjected to loud boos and an offensive chant by West Brom fans.

Bong came off the bench in extra-time in the 3-1 FA Cup win at the Hawthorns, where last season he accused West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez of a racist remark.

The case was found by the FA to be not proven and it was the first time since the incident that Rodriguez, substituted at half-time, and Bong have been on opposite sides.

Bong was booed when he came on and every time he touched the ball. West Brom supporters also greeted his arrival with a chant of "There's only one smelly b***ard", a reference to the accusation against Rodriguez that he said in the incident last season: "You're black and you stink".

Hughton said: "What we heard tonight is not nice. One thing that the game has done very well in recent years is pick up on anything they need to.

"The original case was dealt with very well by the FA. Unfortunately, the nature of the game these days is you are going to hear things that you think are unfair and you don't want to hear.

"Of course that then becomes the responsibility of others. All we can do is our job and all Gaetan can do is get on with what he does best and that is playing football."

Asked by The Argus if he heard the chant, Hughton said: "No, I could certainly hear a chant, I couldn't hear what the wording was. I certainly heard lots of boos. When it started I knew that it wasn't going to stop.

"But if we're talking about individuals that want to make chants of that nature then what we have in Gaetan is a very upright, respectable individual and for those that want to make those chants that's their individual choice.

"And it's down to the authorities, the governors of our game and what we see and hear for people to deal with, and the game certainly in recent years has acted on anything really well."