A footballer who racially abused Premier League footballer Hwang Hee-chan has been slapped with a ten-match ban by FIFA.
Marco Curto, who is on loan at Italian side Cesena from Como, was found guilty of racially abusing the Wolves forward during a pre-season friendly for his parent club in July.
Wolves complained to the Italian Football Association and to Uefa, with the latter saying they could not act because the match was not under their jurisdiction.
However, Fifa then stepped in to investigate the incident after the South Korean football association contacted the organisation to express their ‘serious concern’ about the matter.
‘The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behaviour and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,’ a Fifa spokesperson said.
‘Serving of half of those matches is suspended for a probation period of two years, and the player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organisation approved by Fifa.’
The flashpoint occurred during the second half of the match between the two sides, with Wolves player Daniel Podence sent off for punching an opponent in the aftermath of the comment.
Como, however, insisted that Curto was merely making a joke in reference to Hwang’s widely-used nickname ‘Channy’ when he said: ‘Ignore [Hwang], he thinks he’s Jackie Chan’.
‘Having spoken to our player at length, we are confident this was in reference to the player’s name, and to the constant references of ‘Channy’ made by his own teammates on the pitch,” Mirwan Suwarso, a spokesperson for the club’s owers said.
‘As far as our club is concerned our player did not say anything in a derogatory manner. We are disappointed that the reaction of certain Wolves players has seen the incident blown out of proportion.’
Curto joined second-tier side Cesena a week after the incident occurred.
Wolves’ director of football operations and administration Matt Wild said: ‘We welcome Fifa’s decision to sanction Marco Curto following the discriminatory incident during our pre-season friendly against Como 1907.
‘The suspension issued to the player sends a clear message that racism and discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated in football or society.’
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