Como rejects accusations of racism against Wolves player Hwang Hee-chan and describes incident as “exaggerated”

Italian club Como denied that their player had deliberately behaved in a racist manner towards Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Hwang Hee-chan and accused Wolves of “hyperbolizing” the incident.

Wolves have lodged a complaint with the English Football Association after Hwang reported racist abuse during a training match against the Serie A side as part of their pre-season camp in Spain on Monday evening.

The FA is expected to contact the Italian Football Association (FIGC) and European football’s governing body UEFA after the incident infuriated Hwang’s Wolves teammates and resulted in Daniel Podence being sent off for a punch.

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

Mirwan Suwarso, official representative of Como’s owners club, said: “Our club does not tolerate racism and strongly condemns any form of it.

“We spoke to the defense attorney in question to understand what was said. He told us that his comment to his co-defense attorney was, ‘Ignore him, he thinks he’s Jackie Chan.’

“After speaking at length with our player, we are convinced this was in reference to the player’s name and the constant references to ‘Channy’ by his own teammates on the field.

“Our club assumes that our player did not make any derogatory comments.

“We are disappointed that the reaction of certain Wolves players has led to the incident being blown out of proportion.”

Como were promoted to Serie A at the end of last season (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil spoke after his side’s 1-0 win, revealing that he spoke to Hwang and offered to take Wolves off the field or substitute the South Korean international. Hwang opted to continue the game.

Wolves hope that UEFA and the FIGC will launch investigations, although the European governing body told The Athletic that the friendly was not within its jurisdiction.

A UEFA statement said: “The fight to eliminate racism, discrimination and intolerance from football is a top priority for our organisation.

“Discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated in UEFA competitions. Any such behaviour is subject to Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations.

“UEFA will continue its fight to eradicate all forms of discrimination in football, but the organisation’s disciplinary bodies can only intervene in incidents that occur in the context of UEFA competitions.”

Kick it Out, a British anti-racism organisation, said: “Whatever the intention, the alleged racist stereotyping of Hwang Hee-chan during Wolves’ pre-season match against Como on Monday 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 percent) of the reports we have received about players in professional sport have been against East Asian players. We are also aware of the impact this abuse can have on the wider community.

“We commend Wolves for their proactive approach in handling this incident and send our full support to Hwang Hee-chan.”

Wolves were due to fly home today after a week in Spain. Next week they will travel to the USA for three games, including meetings with West Ham, Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig.

(Top photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)