World football governing body FIFA has imposed a 10-match ban on Italian player Marco Curto for racially abusing Wolves forward Hee-chan Hwang. Curto played for newly promoted Serie A side Como in a pre-season friendly against Wolves. However, he has since been sent on loan to Serie B side Cesena. The Italian was found guilty of racially abusing Hwang during the pre-season friendly in July.
A FIFA spokesperson confirmed the sanction, saying, “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behaviour and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension.”
The South Korean FA petitioned FIFA in July to complain about the incident. While Wolves are expected to release a statement in approval of the sanction later on, Como have a different view of the matter. A spokesperson for the club’s ownership, Mirwan Suwarso, narrated what the defender reported to the club about the incident. He claimed Curto’s story is that he remarked to a teammate, “Ignore (Hwang), he thinks he’s Jackie Chan.” Suwarso said, “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.” He went on to state that the club feels the reaction from Hwang’s Wolves teammates is blown out of proportion.
Hwang’s compatriot, Tottenham Hotspurs’ Son Heung-min, is also at the centre of a racial abuse charge by the English FA against his teammate Rodrigo Bentacur.
