Wolves star Daniel Podence sent off for punching Como player in pre-season clash after alleged racial abuse towards Hwang Hee-chan
Wolves star Daniel Podence was sent off for punching an opponent during a pre-season friendly match with Como on Monday (July 15). The scuffle between players of the two teams arose after South Korean striker Hwang Hee-chan was allegedly on the receiving end of racial abuse.
It was Wolves who ended up winning this tie 1-0 but saw Daniel Podence shown a straight red for the aforementioned offense in the 68th minute. Speaking about the incident after the match, the Premier League club's manager Gary O'Neil said (via SPORTbible):
"Channy heard a racist remark, which he was 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."
He added:
"But obviously it's really disappointing, disappointing that we have to talk about it, disappointed that it happened, disappointing that it impacted the game. Not ideal for a pre-season friendly, things like that should never happen.
"(We're) proud of the fact that he wanted to carry on and that he put his team first in a difficult moment for him."
Following this incident, Wolves also released a statement against racial abuse and any form of discrimination. They get their Premier League campaign underway with a trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on August 17.
Como release statement after racism incident that got Wolves' Daniel Podence sent off
Como decided to back their player who was accused of using a derogatory remark against Wolves attacker Hwang Hee-chan, which ultimately got Daniel Podence sent off.
The statement also reveals what exactly was said to the South Korea international during this incident. After the row, the club wrote in their defense (via SPORTbible):
"Our club does not tolerate racism and condemns all forms of it in the strongest way. We spoke to the defender in question to understand what was said. He told us, the comment he made to his co-defender was 'ignore him, he thinks he's Jackie Chan'.
"Having spoken to our player at length, we are confident that this was in reference to the player's name and to the constant references of 'Channy' made by his own teammates on the pitch. As far as our club is concerned, our player did not say anything in a derogatory manner."
Como are also preparing for the start of the new season after they earned promotion to Serie A last campaign. Their first match is against Juventus on August 19.