Mexican man apologizes for racist gesture toward Korean YouTuber at World Cup

Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes, a Mexican football fan, is seen in a screen capture from social media making a racist gesture targeting people of Asian descent during a 2026 FIFA World Cup match between Korea and the Czech Republic at Akron Stadium in Zapopan near Guadalajara, Mexico, June 11. Captured from Instagram

A Mexican football fan who made a racist gesture toward a Korean YouTuber during the Korea-Czech Republic match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup apologized amid widespread controversy.

Korean YouTuber Ino Cat, who has 6.6 million subscribers, posted a video Thursday from Akron Stadium in Zapopan near Guadalajara, Mexico, where she had watched the Group A opener between Korea and the Czech Republic. In the caption, she asked viewers, “Tell me if I'm just being too sensitive,” with the English caption “POV: When you experienced racism at the World Cup.”

The footage shows her taking a selfie and waving at the camera while, behind her, a Mexican man looks directly into the lens and pulls both eyes back with his index fingers — a gesture long recognized as insulting toward people of Asian descent.

The man in the video was later identified as Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes, president of an engineering association in the Mexican state of Jalisco. As the controversy grew, he posted a video apology over the weekend.

“I sincerely regret everything this situation has caused. I have taken time to reflect on what happened and I understand the responsibility I have in this moment,” Bernal said in the video.

“I am not here to justify myself or to debate different interpretations. I am here to acknowledge that this situation has caused discomfort and to express my most sincere apologies in a clear and respectful manner.”

Despite the apology, many Koreans said the racist gesture itself remained a serious concern.

“The apology showed accountability without excuses, but the racist gesture at an international sporting event remains a serious problem,” one Korean user wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “As Koreans, when we encounter something like this abroad, I think it's important to respond firmly but also handle it wisely.”

After claims circulated online that Bernal was president of the Colegio de Ingenieros Civiles del Estado de Jalisco, the organization issued a statement distancing itself from Bernal, saying he has no affiliation with the group.

Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at the School of Creative Convergence Studies at Sungshin Women's University, called on FIFA to take steps to prevent similar incidents.

“It is unacceptable that something like this would happen at a World Cup, where people of all nationalities and races come together as one global community,” Seo said. “FIFA should take this incident as a lesson to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”