A romance for Hwang Hee-chan.
Hwang’s teammates stood up for him after he was called a racist slur during a friendly match. One of his teammates, a striker, threw a punch at the player who made the remark and left the field before he was red carded.
Hwang came on in the second half and played 45 minutes in the first pre-season friendly against current club Wolverhampton of the English Premier League on Sept. 16 (KST). Just when he thought he had gotten off to a good start in his quest for a second consecutive season, something shocking happened.
Midway through the second half, an opposing player shouted a racial slur at Hwang. Hwang and her Wolves teammates stood firm. Instead of canceling the game, they spent the rest of the time on the field sweating it out. Daniel Podense, a Portuguese striker who plays for Wolverhampton, showed the romance and loyalty of the game by slapping the player who made the racist remark, even at the risk of a red card.
Liam Keane, a reporter for the Express and Star covering Wolverhampton’s pre-season training, provided details of the incident.
According to Keane, as soon as the insulting remark was made, teammate Podense assaulted the Como player who made the comment. Afterward, players from both teams crowded into a small area of the pitch and engaged in a nervous battle. Podense left the field before seeing a red card.
Wolves head coach Garry O’Neill condemned the racist remarks against Hwang but praised the team spirit shown by his players.
Coach O’Neill suggested that Hwang quit the match, but Hwang showed his desire to play until the 90th minute, and the match went to the 90th minute. Despite what she had been through, Hwang remained professional.
“I was really disappointed to hear Chani’s (Hwang’s nickname) racist comments and I spoke to him about it and made sure he either pulled out of the team or stepped down himself, but he wanted the team to continue and do what was necessary,” O’Neill said after the game, adding, ”It’s not ideal and it shouldn’t happen.”
“I’m proud of the fact that he wanted to continue to lead the team in a difficult time, even though he went through something incredibly unpleasant, he wanted to be with the team and want his teammates to play,” he added, praising Hwang’s attitude, saying, ”Chani will be fine, he will have our full support and we will take him and make sure he is fine.”
Wolverhampton said on the club’s official website: “Racism or any form of discrimination is completely unacceptable and must never be challenged. Wolves will be lodging a formal complaint with UEFA regarding this incident,” the club said in a statement.
Unfortunately, instead of issuing a straightforward apology, the Como club made excuses and in effect denied the racist comments made by one of their players.
“We do not tolerate racism and strongly condemn all forms of racism,” Como said on the night of the 16th, but added: ”We spoke to the defender in question to find out what he said. He told a fellow defender immediately after the incident: ‘Just ignore it, he (Hwang) thinks he’s Jackie 메이저사이트 Chan,’” he said. This enraged Hwang and the Wolverhampton players, resulting in an incident and a red card for one of them.
Calling out another Asian in front of an Asian player is a huge disrespect and a classic example of racist remarks, and the Como organization turned a blind eye.
“After a long conversation with our player, we are convinced that this incident had something to do with Hwang’s name and his teammates calling him ‘Channy’,” Como added. The claim is that they were referring to Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan (Jackie Chan) as a nickname and there was no racial animus involved.
Como went a step further and criticized Podense and his Wolves teammates for making racist comments on behalf of Hwang.
“We are disappointed that the incident has been blown out of proportion by the reaction of some Wolverhampton players,” Como wrote, seemingly taking a shot at Podense for throwing the punch.
UEFA also showed their displeasure with Hwang’s attitude.
It was one of the first matches to feature a referee, and even though it took place in Spain, one of UEFA’s member nations, the organization said it didn’t want to get involved in a friendly match.
According to global sports outlet The Athletic, a UEFA spokesperson confirmed that the organization’s disciplinary bodies can only take action against incidents that take place in UEFA competitions, stating that “while UEFA continues its fight to eradicate all forms of discrimination in football, the organization’s disciplinary bodies can only take action against incidents that occur in UEFA competitions.”
They said they had no jurisdiction because the match between Como and Wolverhampton was a friendly organized by the two clubs and not a UEFA-sanctioned match. Wolverhampton were left in a position where they could ask for help and not receive it.
Although Como’s counter-attack and UEFA’s cynicism left Hwang twice wounded, it was a beautiful day with great company.
Wolves teammates such as Podense and Lemina posted messages of support on their social media on the 17th to show that they will always be there for Hwang. Premier League Korean player and living legend Son Heung-min also showed his support by posting a comment on Hwang’s social media. Wolverhampton fans also encouraged the players with messages such as “Cheer up Hwang Hee-chan,” “Podense is a real man,” and “Let’s play one more game with Komorang and give him more punishment.”
The incident was also covered by major British media, including the BBC.
“O’Neill asked Hwang if he wanted to abandon the game, but Hwang refused and the game ended 1-0 to Wolverhampton,” the BBC reported, illustrating how dangerous racist remarks can be on the soccer field.
Two years earlier, Hwang had been subjected to racist chants from SC Farense fans during pre-season and had responded that the club was very disappointed. Wolverhampton responded in the same way two years later, comforting and encouraging him. The players showed solidarity with Hwang.
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