South Korea national team forward Hwang Hee-chan. [Newsis]
South Korea national team forward Hwang Hee-chan. [Newsis]

Hwang Hee-chan, the Schalke 04 forward who sparked controversy by shoving a fourth official and a team physiotherapist during a German professional football match, has broken his silence on the incident, saying the official approached him aggressively and got too close.

According to German outlet Kicker on Sunday (local time), Hwang addressed the controversy directly, offering his account of the touchline confrontation.

Earlier, Hwang started for Schalke 04 against Dynamo Dresden in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on Oct. 29. Around the 40th minute of the first half, he went down after a challenge but no foul was called, prompting him to protest to the referee.

Hwang then left the pitch for treatment, and during that process he shoved the fourth official and the team's physiotherapist as they approached him. The referee responded by showing him a yellow card.

Schalke head coach Miron Muslic told reporters after the match that he had not liked Hwang's behavior. German tabloid Bild was more pointed, calling any physical contact with match officials an absolute taboo in football and writing that Hwang should "cross himself three times" for escaping with only a yellow card for such a reckless act.

Hwang pushed back through Kicker, saying the fourth official "came at me very aggressively — he got too close, so I pushed him away." He added that he had not shoved or struck the official hard. "I really was not being aggressive," he said.

Meanwhile, Hwang joined Schalke 04 last summer after leaving England. He has appeared in seven official matches since the move, recording one assist, and has yet to score his first goal for the club.

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betterj@heraldcorp.com