Hee Chan Hwang(Picture: Getty Images)
There were terrible scenes during a friendly between Wolves and Como on Monday as Hee Chan Hwang reported that he was racially abused, with his teammate Daniel Podence sent off for punching an opponent in the aftermath of the incident.
The flashpoint came in the 68th minute, with Hwang accusing a Como defender of racist abuse, with his Wolves teammates reacting angrily to what was said.
Podence was dismissed for throwing a punch at a Como player, reports The Express and Star, but the match eventually continued to a conclusion in Marbella.
Explaining the incident, Wolves boss Gary O’Neil said: ‘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.
‘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.
‘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. He knew it was a pre-season trip and he wanted the lads to work and get their minutes, even though he’d suffered something hugely offensive. 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.
‘It’s a together group. Of course, there’s ways to handle that and we don’t want to leave ourselves short on the pitch, but it’s a together group.
Daniel Podence was shown red after the incident (Picture: Getty Images)
‘We’ve worked really hard this week, had a good week, had some great moments in the game, but it’s an unfortunate incident we have to deal with and have to discuss when, ideally, we’d be talking about the game.
‘Of course, when an incident like that happens in a game, it’s the first thing we discuss.’
Wolves confirmed in a statement: ‘Racism or discrimination in any form is completely unacceptable and should never be left unchallenged, and Wolves will be submitting a formal complaint to UEFA regarding the incident.’
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