FIFA granted the Italian a ten-match suspension Marco Curtoplayer owned by Como 1907 but loaned to Cesena, for a “discriminatory” comment about South Korean Hwan Hee-chanfrom Wolverhampton, although so far he will only play five games.
That “discriminatory” comment occurred last July in a friendly in Marbella, when Curto told a teammate: “Leave him alone, he thought he was Jackie Chan,” refers to Hwang Hee-chan.
The comment led to a fight
That episode led to a brawl on the field as Wolves players jumped to the defense of their teammate. The Portuguese Daniel Pondance He was fired after the trouble.
“The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and was punished with a suspension of ten matches. Half of these matches were suspended during a two-year probationary period. The player must perform community service and undergo training and education with a FIFA-approved organization,” said a FIFA spokesman, which is why, for now, the penalty is only five matches.
The sentence was confirmed by Wolverhampton, which issued a statement in which it accepted the punishment imposed.
The sanction, to Cesena
Curto, 25 years old, is a player who belongs to Como 1907, a Serie A team coached by Cesc Fàbregas, but he has to serve his sentence with Cesena, from Serie B, where he left on loan just one week after this episode.
After the friendly match, Wolves lodged an official protest with UEFA and the South Korean Football Association also intervened to defend its team player in a statement in which it appealed to FIFA.
How he justified the comment
Como, for its part, on July 16, a day after the match, condemned any action of this kind but came out in defense of its player, justifying the comment.
“Our club does not tolerate racism and condemns all its forms. We spoke to our defender (Curto) and he told us that the comment he made was ‘Leave him alone, he thinks he’s Jackie Chan ,'” Como said.
“We are convinced that it was in reference to the player’s name and his nickname ‘Channy’, which his teammates kept mentioning during the match. As far as our club is concerned, our player did not speak intentionally “We are disappointed that the reaction of some Wolves players has escalated the incident,” he added.
So far, neither Como, nor Cesena, nor the player have commented after learning of the penalty.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
