The Korea Football Association’s request for sanctions from FIFA is also drawing attention in the UK.
Wolverhampton Wanderers played a pre-season friendly match with Como on the 16th (Korea time). Hwang Hee-chan came out on the day and was racist by his opponent during the match. Daniel Podense swung his fist in anger and was sent off. Manager Gary O’Neill gave Hwang Hee-chan a chance to quit the game, but Hwang Hee-chan decided to keep playing.
O’Neill supported Hwang Hee-chan. O’Neill said, “I heard Hwang Hee-chan make racist remarks. I am really disappointed. I talked to Hwang Hee-chan. He wanted to keep running and do what the team needed to do. I am really disappointed that this happened. Racism should not happen. It is natural and understandable to be disappointed. However, I am proud of him for trying to continue the game by thinking of the team first at a difficult moment.”
O’Neill also praised Hwang Hee-chan. O’Neill said, “Hwang Hee-chan knew it was a pre-season game. Even though he was hurt a lot, he wanted other players to get some time to play. Hwang Hee-chan will be fine. He will receive our full support.”
Como also made an official statement. However, he insisted it was not racist. Como said, “Our club does not condone racism and condemns it in all its forms in the strongest possible way. We talked to find out what the defender in question said. He explained that what he said to his fellow defender was “ignore him, think he’s Jackie Chan.”
He continued: “After a long conversation with the player, we are confident that it was a reference to his Wolverhampton teammates continuing to mention ‘Channi’. As far as our club is concerned, our player has not said anything in a demeaning way. We are sorry that the incident has escalated too much due to the reaction of some players.” 먹튀검증
Wolverhampton had no intention of taking the matter lightly. Wolverhampton said, “No form of racism can ever be tolerated. It must never be neglected. We will file a formal complaint with the UEFA regarding this case.”
Despite Wolverhampton’s protest, UEFA said it could not investigate. BBC reported, “UEFA said it could not investigate Wolverhampton’s match against Como. UEFA said it could not investigate the incident because it was not organized by UEFA.”