- Wolves beat Como 1-0 in Marbella in a pre-season friendly on Monday evening
- The result was overshadowed by alleged racist abuse aimed at Hwang Hee-chan
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Wolves have vowed to launch a formal complaint to UEFA after Hwang Hee-chan was subject to alleged racist abuse during a pre-season friendly with Como on Monday evening.
The incident saw the South Korean star allegedly targeted by one of the Como players, forcing several Wolves players to intervene in defence of their team-mate.
Wolves winger Daniel Podence was then shown a straight red card for punching an opponent.
However, there is no suggestion that the player Podence punched was the one who is alleged to have abused his team-mate.
Following Podence’s dismissal, it was initially unclear whether or not the game would continue.
Wolves players pictured celebrating a goal in Monday’s 1-0 win over Como in Marbella – before the game was overshadowed by allegations of racist abuse
Daniel Podence, pictured at a training session last week, was sent off for throwing a punch after one of his team-mates had allegedly been racially abused
South Korea star Hwang Hee-chan, pictured last week, was the victim of the alleged abuse
But after Wolves manager Gary O’Neil spoke with Hwang, the match resumed.
O’Neil later said in a video interview with the Wolves social media team: ‘Channy heard a racist remark, which he’s really disappointed with.
‘I spoke to Channy on it, checked whether he wanted me to take the team out, or whether he wanted to come off himself.
‘He was keen that the team carried on and got the work that they needed. But obviously it’s really disappointing.
‘Disappointing that we have to talk about it, disappointing that it happened, disappointing that it impacted the game.
‘Not ideal for a pre-season friendly. I mean, things like that should never happen.’
Wolves manager Gary O’Neil described the incident as ‘disappointing’ and added that ‘things like that should never happen’
A short club statement read: ‘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.’
The Premier League side beat Serie A new boys Como 1-0 in Marbella courtesy of a headed goal by Matt Doherty in the 61st minute.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk