Como deny allegation of racism towards Wolves’ Hwang

Italian club Como have denied their player was intentionally racist towards Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan and accused Wolves of “blowing the incident out of proportion”.

Wolves have lodged a complaint with the English FA after Hwang reported being racially abused during a training-ground game against the Serie A side at their pre-season training camp in Spain on Monday evening.

The FA is expected to contact to the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and European governing body UEFA after the incident left Hwang’s Wolves team-mates furious and saw Daniel Podence sent off for throwing a punch.

But, in a statement released on Tuesday, Como played down the incident as a misunderstanding.

Mirwan Suwarso, official representative of Como’s ownership club, said: “Our club does not tolerate racism and condemns all forms of it in the strongest possible way.

“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.”

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil spoke after his side’s 1-0 victory, revealing he had spoken to Hwang and offered to take Wolves off the field or substitute the South Korea international. Hwang opted to allow the game to continue.

Wolves hope UEFA and the FIGC will investigate, although the European governing body told The Athletic that the friendly did not fall under its jurisdiction.

A UEFA statement read: “The fight to eliminate racism, discrimination and intolerance from football is a major priority for our organization.

“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.”

Kick it Out, a UK anti-discrimination charity, said: “Regardless of intent, the alleged racial stereotyping of Hwang Hee-chan 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 Hwang Hee-chan.”

Wolves were due to fly home today after a week in Spain. They will leave for the United States next week for a three-match trip comprising meetings with West Ham, Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig.

(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)