Marco Curto, a player for Como, received a ban from FIFA for calling his opponent Hwang Hee-chan “Jackie Chan” during a pre-season friendly match. Here are all the details:
As part of their pre-season preparations, Serie A team Como faced Premier League club Wolverhampton this summer. The English team won the match 1-0, but the incident involving Como player Marco Curto addressing Wolverhampton’s Hwang Hee-chan as “Jackie Chan” sparked controversy.
“THE INCIDENT IS BEING EXAGGERATED”
Following the uproar, Como 1907 Club issued a statement through their official social media accounts. The statement read: “Our club does not tolerate racism and condemns it in all forms. We have spoken with our player and are sure that he was referring to how Hwang Hee-chan is called ‘Channy’ by his teammates. As a club, we do not believe our player used a derogatory term. We were disappointed that some Wolverhampton players exaggerated their reactions.”
“DESPITE THE DISTURBANCE, HE CONTINUED TO PLAY”
After the match, Wolverhampton’s head coach Garry O’Neil commented that his player Hwang Hee-chan had been subjected to a racist remark: “Channy really was subjected to a disturbing remark. I spoke to him about it. I told him I could take him off if he wanted, but despite all his discomfort, he chose to stay on the field to support his team.”
FIFA ISSUES 10-MATCH BAN
The matter was brought to FIFA by the Wolverhampton management. The International Football Federation found Marco Curto guilty in this case. The Italian player received a total ban of 10 matches from football.
