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South Korea Complains to FIFA Over Racist Abuse of Hwang

Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan celebrates scoring against Luton Town at Molineux Stadium in April 2024 - AFP
Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan celebrates scoring against Luton Town at Molineux Stadium in April 2024 - AFP
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South Korea Complains to FIFA Over Racist Abuse of Hwang

Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan celebrates scoring against Luton Town at Molineux Stadium in April 2024 - AFP
Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan celebrates scoring against Luton Town at Molineux Stadium in April 2024 - AFP

South Korea's football association has officially complained to the world body about an alleged racist remark directed at Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan despite Italian club Como denying the accusations.

An unnamed Como player was accused of referring to Hwang as "Jackie Chan", a popular Hong Kong movie star known for his martial arts films, during a pre-season match in Spain on Monday.

On Tuesday, Como insisted its player "did not say anything in a derogatory manner" and "the reaction of certain Wolves players has seen the incident blown out of proportion".

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said it sent an official letter to the world body FIFA on Thursday expressing "serious concern about the racist acts suffered by Hwang Hee-chan".

The letter asked FIFA to take action and "eradicate racism on the soccer field", the association said on its official X account, AFP reported.

Earlier this week Hwang said on Instagram that the coaching staff and his teammates said they would leave the field with him "if needed" after the alleged abuse.

"Racism is intolerable in sports and in all aspects of life," he added, with his post attracting more than 143,500 likes.

According to Como, its unnamed player said "ignore him, he thinks he's Jackie Chan".

The Italian Club insisted the remark was in "reference to the player's name, and to the constant references of 'Channy' made by his own teammates on the pitch".

Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil said Hwang had the full support of the Wolves group.

Hwang is not the first South Korean player to experience racist attacks while playing in European leagues.

In 2021, eight men suspected of tweeting racist abuse at Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min were arrested across England and Wales.

Son said in 2022 that he faced "unimaginable" racism as a teenage footballer in Germany, and was happy to get "revenge" when South Korea knocked Germany out of the 2018 World Cup.

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Paris Police Sealing Off Seine River Ahead of Olympics Opening Ceremony

People carry their bikes up a staircase to get around a security area closed off for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
People carry their bikes up a staircase to get around a security area closed off for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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Paris Police Sealing Off Seine River Ahead of Olympics Opening Ceremony

People carry their bikes up a staircase to get around a security area closed off for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
People carry their bikes up a staircase to get around a security area closed off for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A special kind of iron curtain came down across central Paris on Thursday, with the beginning of an Olympic anti-terrorism perimeter along the banks of the River Seine sealing off a kilometers-long area to Parisians and tourists who hadn’t applied in advance for a pass.
The words on many lips were “QR code,” the pass that grants access beyond snaking metal barriers that delineate the security zone set up to protect the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony on July 26.
“I didn’t know it started today,” said Emmanuelle Witt, a 35-year-old communications freelancer who was stopped by police near the Alma bridge while biking across town. She desperately went on her phone to fill out the online form to get her QR code, unaware that the vetting process could take several days, The Associated Press reported.
Those with the precious code – either on their phones or printed out on pieces of paper – passed smoothly past police checkpoints at gaps in the barriers taller than most people.
Those without got mostly turned away – with no amount of grumbling and cajoling making officers budge.
“That’s too much, that’s over the top, that whole thing is a pain,” grumbled Nassim Bennamou, a delivery man who was denied access to the street leading to Notre Dame Cathedral on his scooter.
“Even the GPS is confused, I have no idea how I’m going to work today,” he added.
While authorities announced the code system last year and have been meeting with local residents for months to explain the restrictions, not everyone was aware. Officers patiently explained to visitors without the pass how to reach iconic Paris monuments without going through the restricted zone.
“We had no idea we needed a QR code,” said Takao Sakamoto, 55, who was denied access to the Eiffel Tower near the Bir Hakeim Metro station. Visiting from Japan with his wife, he took a photo of the tower from a distance, behind fences and police cars. “That will do,” Sakamoto remarked with despair.
On the other hand, visitors who were lucky enough to come across officers who leniently let them pass without QR codes and others who'd equipped themselves with them were treated to the sight of near-empty riverside boulevards that, in normal times, heave with traffic.
“There's no one around!” sang a happy cyclist on a street he had largely to himself. With police seemingly everywhere, another man walking past a riverside café with fewer than usual customers loudly quipped: “You can leave your money and cell phones on the tables, there's definitely no thieves!”
“It’s surreal, it really feels like we’re the only ones here,” said Sarah Bartnicka from Canada. Enjoying a morning jog with a friend, the 29-year-old took a selfie with a police officer on the deserted Iéna bridge to capture the moment.
Paris has repeatedly suffered deadly extremist attacks, most notably in 2015. Up to 45,000 police and gendarmes as well as 10,000 soldiers are being deployed for Olympic security.
“I understand why they’re doing this,” said Carla Money, a 64-year-old American who managed to pass the barriers with her family.
Some business owners inside the security zone grumbled that sharply reduced foot-fall would hurt their bottom line.
“They’ve locked me up like a prisoner," said Raymond Pignol. His restaurant, L'Auberge Café, near the Pont Neuf that spans the Seine, is just inside the metal fencing.
The perimeter went into effect early Thursday morning and will last through the ceremony. As an exception, Paris has decided to hold the opening of its first Games in a century on the river rather than in a stadium, like previous host cities. Most of the river security measures will be lifted after the show.
Officers were under instructions to be polite and patient as employees on their way to work and others dealt with the perimeter and the passes for the first time. But Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said that after the initial 24 hours of being accommodating, officers would apply the rules much more firmly, with no more looking the other way for those without QR codes.