Gary O'Neil speaks out as Wolves' Daniel Podence sent off for punching Como player in racism row

Wolves manager Gary O'Neil has spoken out after Daniel Podence was sent off for punching an opponent over a racism row.

Wolves beat Italian side Como 1-0 in a pre-season friendly in Spain on Monday, but the match was overshadowed by an incident in the second half.

Wolves say that South Korean striker Hwang Hee-chan was racially abused by a Como player during the match.

This resulted in players from both sides clashing in the 68th minute, with Wolves attacker Daniel Podence shown a straight red card for throwing a punch.

Players and coaches from both sides were in discussions for several minutes, and play resumed after Hwang said he wanted the match to continue.

Speaking to the Wolves in-house media team, O'Neil shared exactly what happened.

"Channy heard a racist remark, which he was really disappointed with. I spoke to Channy [Hwang] on it, checked whether he wanted me to take the team out, or whether he wanted to come off himself.

"He was keen that the team carried on and got the work that they needed.

"But obviously it's really disappointing, disappointing that we have to talk about it, disappointed that it happened, disappointing that it impacted the game. Not ideal for a pre-season friendly, things like that should never happen.

"[We're] proud of the fact that he [Hwang] wanted to carry on and that he put his team first in a difficult moment for him.

Hwang Hee-chan was the target of racist abuse. [Getty]

"He knew it was a pre-season trip and he wanted the lads to work and get their minutes, even though he suffered something that he found hugely offensive.

"Channy will be okay, he'll get our full support."

Following the incident Wolves released a statement that read: "Racism or discrimination in any form is completely unacceptable and should never be left unchallenged."

The club added that they will be "submitting a formal complaint to Uefa regarding the incident."

Hwang has previously been the target of racist abuse. In 2022, Wolves said they were "very disappointed" when Hwang suffered "discriminatory abuse" from SC Farense fans in a pre-season friendly.

Como, backed by Thierry Henry and coached by Cesc Fabregas, will play in Serie A for the first time this season.

Como released the following statement:

"Our club does not tolerate racism and condemns all forms of it in the strongest possible way.

"We spoke to the defender in question to understand what was said. He has told us the comment he made, to his co defender, was 'ignore him, 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 team-mates on the pitch.

"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."