Como accuse a number of Wolverhampton Wanderers players of ‘blowing out of proportion’ what a defender of the Serie A side said to Hwang Hee-chan during a pre-season friendly.
Como have claimed that Wolverhampton Wanderers were wrong to suggest that one of their players made a racist comment towards Hwang Hee-chan.
On Monday evening, the two teams were involved in a behind-closed-doors friendly in Marbella, Wolves prevailing 1-0 courtesy of a Matt Doherty goal.
However, during the second half, a melee ensued once it became apparent that Hwang had heard what he claimed to be a racist comment made towards him.
In response, Daniel Podence punched a Como defender and was sent off, leaving Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil to address the incident in-depth post-match.
© Reuters
O’Neil praises Hwang conduct
The Englishman told the club’s official website: “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.”
At the time, Wolves did not publicly disclose what was said, instead deciding to take the approach of making an official complaint to UEFA.
Como have now given their version of events, seemingly being open about what was said and choosing to defend the comments, rather than make an apology to Hwang or Wolves.
Official statement regarding yesterday’s incident during our friendly vs. Wolves: pic.twitter.com/BuacRrbOQU
— Como1907 (@Como_1907) July 16, 2024
Wolves are yet to issue their counter-response, but Hwang and the rest of the Wolves squad were seen enjoying a rest day by playing volleyball at their training facilities on Tuesday.
Incident comes after transfer speculation
Hwang has been no stranger to headlines in recent days with Marseille allegedly pushing hard to sign the South Korea international.
Wolves are said to have rejected a £21m offer and have no interest in selling the 28-year-old, although it has been reported that he has agreed personal terms with the French giants.
O’Neil and his squad will soon travel to the United States for their second pre-season tour, where they will face West Ham United, Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig.