Korea calls on FIFA to adopt harsher penalties for racism

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan eyes the ball during a Premier League match against Liverpool in Liverpool on May 19. [AFP/YONHAP]

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Thursday it has asked FIFA to strengthen punishments for racist behavior after an alleged racist remark was directed at Hwang Hee-chan during a recent friendly.

In a message posted on its official X page, the Korean national football federation said it sent an official letter to FIFA to demand tougher penalties for perpetrators of racism "in order to prevent and eradicate racial discrimination taking place at football stadiums."

The KFA also expressed "grave concerns" over the alleged racist behavior toward Hwang, forward for the Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, during Monday's preseason match in Spain against the Italian side Como 1907.

According to Wolves, Hwang reported the incident during the second half of the closed-door match, leading to angry reactions from his teammates.

Daniel Podence was then shown a straight red card for punching a Como player in the following fracas. According to reports, it is unclear whether the player he struck was the one who is alleged to have abused Hwang.

The details of what was said to Hwang were not shared until Como released its statement on Tuesday, confirming that a defender had made a comment about actor Jackie Chan, who is from Hong Kong, but maintained it was not racist.

References to Jackie Chan, an actor from Hong Kong, are common in anti-Asian hate speech, as are jokes about Asian names that follow different formats to names in other countries.

Other Korean players have faced racial action in the past while playing overseas, but this is the first time the KFA has officially raised the issue with FIFA.

Monday’s incident was not the first time Hwang has been subjected to racist abuse during a preseason game. In 2022, Hwang was subjected to racist abuse during a friendly against Portuguese side Farense at Estádio Algarve in the Algarve, Portugal.

Similar incidents are also still common in the Premier League, with both Hwang and Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min subjected to racist abuse from opposing fans at least once a season. Former Manchester United star Park Ji-sung used to get the same treatment, with his own fans even singing a song about Koreans eating dogs.

Son was even the subject of a racist joke from one of his own teammates earlier this summer: Rodrigo Bentancur told a presenter on Uruguayan TV that all Koreans look the same.

The Como incident also came just a day after the Argentinian national football team were caught on camera singing a racist song about French people while celebrating their victory at the Copa America. The video, shared by Argentina and Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, prompted complaints from the French Football Federation and investigations from both FIFA and Chelsea.

BY JIM BULLEY AND YONHAP [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]