Hwang Hee-chan: Wolves forward target of an alleged racist remark by Como player friendly, says boss Gary O’Neil

Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan was the target of an alleged racist remark by a Como player in a pre-season friendly, manager Gary O’Neil has said.

The Midlands club said, external the incident took place midway through the second half, with Wolves forward Daniel Podence being sent off for throwing a punch in the aftermath.

O’Neil said he asked South Korea forward Hwang if he wanted to abandon the game but 28-year-old declined as Wolves went on to register a 1-0 win at their training camp in Spain.

“Channy heard a racist remark which is really disappointing,” said O’Neil.

“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.

“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.”

Italian club Como – backed by former Arsenal players Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry – achieved promotion to Serie A last season.

“He [Hwang] is 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.

“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.”

In 2022, Wolves said they were “very disappointed” when Hwang suffered “discriminatory abuse” from SC Farense fans in a pre-season friendly.

Following the incident against Como, Wolves said “racism or discrimination in any form is completely unacceptable and should never be left unchallenged”, and they will be “submitting a formal complaint to Uefa regarding the incident”.