A video showing a man making a slant-eye gesture to a South Korean spectator during a FIFA World Cup match has gone viral on social media on Saturday, triggering heated controversy over the gesture widely seen as racism among Asian people, with prompting calls from some netizens for the man featured in the video to apologize.

According to a video shared by South Korean influencer @inocat_t on Instagram on Friday, she was filming herself and other fans and waving in the camera in the stands during the World Cup game between South Korea and Czech Republic when a man seated behind her appeared to pull at the corners of his eyes with both hands’ fingers. The influencer was seen immediately reacting with a visibly displeased expression after noticing the gesture, with a caption accompanying the video: "You traveled across the world for the World Cup…and experienced racism…"

The gesture, usually described as "slant-eye" gesture, could find its roots in cartoons as early as the 19th century when Sinophobia and exclusionism were at their height in the West, where Chinese people were vilified.

The clip has amassed 26.4 thousand comment and 45.3 thousand share, with many netizens saying "sorry" in the comment section. As it spread across social media platforms, some netizens identified the man in the video as allegedly being a Mexican named Ulises Bernal Miramontes, President of the College of Surveying Geomatics Engineers of the State of Jalisco in Mexico. One post accused him of making "Mexicans look bad at the Mundial 2026." The Global Times could not independently verify the identity of the individual.

The video has fueled widespread discussion. Although some netizens argued that "in Mexico we don’t do those things with the intention of being racist" and insisted "it’s not that serious", many others strongly disagreed, describing the behavior as clearly offensive and inappropriate.

"How disgusting that he’s Mexican," one netizen wrote. Another commented, "What a shame about the bad moment and the bad image."

Following the controversy, social media users appeared to identify accounts believed to belong to the man. The social media profiles are reportedly set to private after the incident.

Some netizens also tagged the social media account of the alleged organization linked to the man, calling on it to "remove him from office."

However, in Reddit’s South Korea community, a self-identified Mexican netizen posted an apology for the behavior seen in the video, writing that "that jerk doesn't represent everyone in my country. South Korea is a very beloved country here, and I just hope we have a great game next Thursday."

In the comments section, one netizen referenced a widely circulated video showing a South Korean fan being enthusiastically "adopted" by a crowd of Mexican supporters.

"That’s just how it should be," the netizen wrote.

South Korean broadcaster MBC reported on June 12 that in the same game between South Korea and Czech Republic, there was video showing Mexican fans lifting a South Korean supporter onto their shoulders and celebrating together during the tournament.

Chinese netizens also weighed in after the suspected racism clip circulated online, with some describing the gesture as "hurtful" and asking whether the man had apologized.

At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in the opening match of Group A on June 11, while South Korea came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1. South Korea and Mexico are scheduled to meet at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico on June 18.

Global Times