During a preseason friendly match, Hwang Hee Chan, a forward for Wolverhampton in the English Premier League and a player for the Korean national team, faced racial insults and was called "Jackie Chan" by players from the Italian Serie A club Como. After a controversy arose, in response, Como issued a baffling statement, claiming that the incident was "greatly exaggerated."
On July 17, Como stated, "The player in question saw Hwang Hee-chan being called 'Channy' by his teammates and remarked, 'He must think he
The assumption that all East Asians look alike is a classic example of racism. A notable instance occurred last month when Tottenham player Rodrigo Bentancur faced backlash for saying he couldn't distinguish between Son Heung Min and his cousin. Despite this, Como offered an absurd explanation instead of offering an apology.
Hwang Hee Chan's teammate, Daniel Podence (Portugal), punched the opposing player immediately after the remark and was sent off. After the match, Wolverhampton manager Gary O'Neil said, "Channy heard a really disappointing racist comment. I asked him if he wanted to stop playing, but he wanted to continue." Wolverhampton issued an official statement declaring, "Racism in any form can never be tolerated. We will file an official complaint with UEFA regarding this incident."
Korean netizens were baffled and angered by Como's response. They commented:
"They're so uncivilized, seriously. Ugh."
"You sure have a knack for writing nonsense."
"That was blatantly racist, you bastards."
"Oh, how uncivilized."
"Those Italians are so shameless. They didn't acknowledge the racism against Osimhen either, claiming it was just a joke. Racists like them are disgusting."
"I visited Italy and there were many racists."
"Are they crazy...?"
"What are they saying?"
"F you."
"Incident blown out of proportion??"