A Mexican man has publicly apologized and lost a leadership role after being filmed making a racist gesture toward a South Korean content creator during a World Cup match in Guadalajara, according to the BBC.
Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes was caught on camera pulling the corners of his eyes — a gesture widely considered offensive to East Asian people — while seated behind South Korean content creator Yoon Su-jin during South Korea’s match against the Czech Republic last Friday.
Yoon, a well-known South Korean blogger with millions of followers across YouTube and TikTok, posted the footage to Instagram, where it quickly took off. The clip was reshared over 120,000 times and drew more than 65,000 comments. Many Mexican commentators distanced themselves from Bernal’s behavior and offered their own apologies to the blogger.
The backlash also led to some real consequences. Bernal was removed from his role as president of the College of Geomatics and Topographic Surveying Engineers of Jalisco (CITGEJ) and was forced to apologize. In a public statement, he expressed regret over the incident, saying he had reflected on his actions and understood the weight of the moment.
