FIFA tries to make amends for racist taunt with match invite
YouTuber Yoon Su-jin accepted offer to attend Korea’s game against Mexico as FIFA took swift action against harasser.
FIFA has invited a Korean influencer who was subjected to racist harassment during Korea's FIFA World Cup 2026 opener on June 11 to attend the Korean team’s upcoming match against Mexico on Thursday.
The outreach came as FIFA seeks to reinforce its anti-racism message with the match, which falls on the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, observed every year on June 18.
The influencer in the video, Yoon Su-jin, accepted the invitation to support FIFA's message of inclusion, according to FIFA.
Last week during the match between Korea and the Czech Republic, a Mexican man seated behind Yoon pulled back the corners of his eyes with his fingers in a video posted by the content creator. The gesture, commonly known as the "slant eye" gesture, is primarily used to mock or disparage East Asian facial features.
FIFA moved quickly as the video went viral and announced that it had identified the individual responsible and blocked his ticketing account. FIFA also reaffirmed its stance on condemning all forms of racism in the statement.
The man was later identified as Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes, the president of the College of Geomatics and Topographic Surveying Engineers of the State of Jalisco.
"I sincerely apologize to the influencer involved, the Korean community and my fellow Mexicans who were disappointed by my actions,” said Bernal Miramontes in an apology video and statement posted on social media. He also announced his resignation from his post.
This is not the first controversy involving alleged racist behavior that has tainted this year's World Cup.
Australian video assistant referee official Shaun Evans came under scrutiny after making an upside-down "OK" hand gesture during the referee introduction ahead of a Group E match between Germany and Curaçao on Sunday.
Some observers claimed the gesture could be interpreted as a symbol associated with white supremacy. Among white supremacist groups, it is said to represent the phrase "white power," with the three extended fingers making the letter "W" and the circle formed by the thumb and index finger, together with the wrist, resembling a "P."
“I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind,” Evans said in a statement released Monday by FIFA.
FIFA's independent disciplinary committee also cleared the official, claiming it found “no evidence of breaches” of its disciplinary code.
BY PARK JUN-KYU [[email protected]]
