Hwang Hee-chan: Wolves to formalise complaint after alleged racism during Como friendly

Wolves are pursuing their complaint against a Como player after Hwang Hee-chan was the target of an alleged racist remark – despite Uefa claiming it has no power to investigate.

In a statement, Italian club Como said one of their players made a reference surrounding Hwang’s name, which the Wolves striker immediately reported during Monday’s friendly in Marbella, Spain.

Como said they did not consider the reference racist, adding “the reaction of certain Wolves players has seen the incident blown out of proportion”.

But Wolves and Hwang are adamant it was racist and are now working with the Football Association to formalise their complaint, which will be sent to Uefa and the Italian FA.

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

Boss Gary O’Neil asked South Korea forward Hwang if he wanted to abandon the game but the 28-year-old declined, with Wolves going on to win 1-0.

“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,” O’Neil said. after the match.

Serie A side Como were promoted back to the top flight for the first time in 21 years in May.

“As far as our club is concerned our player did not say anything in a derogatory manner,” their statement added.

Uefa has said 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.

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