Wolves released a statement saying they would launch a complaint to UEFA after Hee-Chan Hwang was allegedly abused during a pre-season friendly against Como; European football's governing body has confirmed it cannot look into the incident because it was not a UEFA competition match
Wednesday 17 July 2024 12:33, UK
Wolves forward Hee-Chan Hwang has broken his silence on the alleged racist abuse directed at him during the pre-season friendly against Como.
Wolves said on Monday they would submit a complaint to UEFA after Hwang was allegedly abused during a pre-season friendly against the Italian side in Spain.
The player's statement was made after European football's governing body said it could not investigate the incident involving the South Korean.
Hwang took to social media to write: "Racism is intolerable in sports and in all aspects of life.
"After the incident, the coaching staff and my team-mates immediately told me that they would leave the field with me if needed, and they kept checking on my wellbeing. I am very grateful to my team-mates once again.
"Despite of all this, I wanted to carry on and we did what we had to do on the pitch! Lastly, thank you to everyone who sent supportive messages. There is no room for racism."
UEFA has confirmed it cannot look into the incident because it was not a UEFA competition match.
"The fight to eliminate racism, discrimination and intolerance from football is a major priority for our organisation," a UEFA spokesperson said.
"Discriminatory behaviour is not tolerated in UEFA's competitions. Any such behaviour would fall under Article 14 of the UEFA disciplinary regulations.
"While UEFA will continue its fight to eliminate all forms of discrimination in football, the organisation's disciplinary bodies can only take action for incidents that take place in UEFA competitions."
Football's world governing body FIFA has been contacted for comment.
It was obliged to investigate when a complaint of racism was made following a friendly between the Republic of Ireland U21s and a Kuwait U23 team in Austria last summer. That case was ultimately closed due to insufficient evidence.
Hwang reported an incident midway through the second half, prompting a furious reaction from team-mates and the dismissal of Wolves winger Daniel Podence for throwing a punch.
Hwang rejected the opportunity to immediately abandon the match and Wolves boss Gary O'Neil stressed the player would have the club's full support.
O'Neil told Wolves' official website: "Channy heard a racist remark which is really disappointing.
"I spoke to Channy about it, checked whether he wanted to take the team off or come off himself, but he was keen the team carried on and got the work they needed.
"He's really disappointed, of course, and understandably.
"I'm proud of the fact that he wanted to carry on and put his team first in a difficult moment for him.
"It's really disappointing that it happened, that we have to talk about it and that it impacted the game - not ideal and things like that shouldn't be around.
"Channy will be OK, he'll get our full support and we'll pick him up in the morning and make sure he's OK."
Como issued a statement on Tuesday looking to clarify the incident, which the Italian club said had been "blown out of proportion".
"Our club does not tolerate racism and condemns all forms of it in the strongest possible way," read a club statement, posted on X.
"We spoke to the defender in question to understand what was said. He has told us the comment he made, to his co-defender, was 'ignore him, he thinks he's Jackie Chan'.
"Having spoken to our player at length, we are confident this was in reference to the player's name, and to the constant references of 'Channy' made by his own team-mates on the pitch.
"As far as our club is concerned our player did not say anything in a derogatory manner.
"We are disappointed that the reaction of certain Wolves players has seen the incident blown out of proportion."
Anti-discrimination charity Kick it Out have sent their full support to the South Korea international.
A Kick It Out statement read: "Regardless of intent, the alleged racial stereotyping of Hee-Chan Hwang during Wolves' pre-season friendly on Monday against Como is deeply offensive to many and has no place on a football pitch, or anywhere in society.
"Over the past five years, over a third (34 per cent) of the reports we've received targeting players in the professional game are directed at East Asian players. We're also aware of the impact that this abuse can have on the wider community.
"We commend Wolves for being proactive in addressing this incident and we send our full support to Hee-Chan Hwang."
