Wolves, Celtic to face off in Dublin instead of Suwon

Korean midfielders Hwang Hee-chan and Oh Hyeon-gyu will still get the chance to face off in an exhibition game this summer, it’s just going to be in Dublin rather than Suwon, Gyeonggi.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' striker Hwang Hee-chan applauds the fans during a Premier League match against West Ham at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, England on Jan. 14. [AFP/YONHAP]

Korean midfielders Hwang Hee-chan and Oh Hyeon-gyu will still get the chance to face off in an exhibition game this summer, it’s just going to be in Dublin rather than Suwon, Gyeonggi.

Hwang’s Wolverhampton Wanderers will take on Oh’s Celtic in an exhibition game at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on July 29, effectively rescheduling a match that the two team’s had been scheduled to play in Korea.

Wolves and Celtic were originally supposed to fly to Korea this summer alongside Serie A club Roma to take part in the 2023 Korea Tour, a new exhibition game series that was also supposed to include local club Incheon United organized by Korean promoters Stadium X and Untouchable Sport Group.

All three touring clubs eventually had to pull out of the tour earlier this month, saying that the promoters failed to meet scheduled fee payments.

Celtic's Oh Hyun-Gyu celebrates scoring a goal against Aberdeen at Celtic Park in Glasgow on May 27. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Roma and Celtic are both still headed to Asia, with Celtic touring Japan and Roma scheduled to play games in Singapore, while Wolves has been forced to look for last-minute options closer to home.

Wolves are now headed to Dublin instead, where the club will train and face Celtic.

“Both ourselves and Celtic were extremely disappointed to have been forced to withdraw from our tour of South Korea this summer,” Wolves’ general manager for marketing and commercial growth Russell Jones said in a statement, “but we are pleased that we have been able to rearrange this pre-season fixture — and couldn’t have wished for a better replacement venue than Dublin and the Aviva Stadium.

“Wolves have enjoyed some thrilling meetings with Celtic in the past and we’re sure that this game will be the same, as well as a great opportunity for Julen and his squad to prepare for our Premier League season.”

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