An international incident sparked widespread public outrage after a Mexican man made a widely recognized anti-Asian racist gesture during a World Cup match between South Korea and the Czech Republic, held in Guadalajara, Mexico last Thursday. The perpetrator, Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes, who served as president of the College of Geomatics and Topographic Surveying Engineers of Jalisco (CITGEJ), has since issued a public apology and been removed from his leadership position over the offensive act. The incident was captured by popular South Korean content creator Yoon Su-jin, better known online by her alias Ino Cat, who boasts 6.6 million YouTube subscribers and more than 2 million TikTok followers. Yoon posted the clip to her Instagram, documenting the moment Bernal, seated directly behind her in the stadium stands, pulled the corners of his eyes into a slanted shape — a gesture long understood as a demeaning, racist mockery of East Asian people — before laughing at the action. In her caption accompanying the viral video, Yoon wrote: “You traveled across the world for the World Cup… and experienced racism…” The clip quickly spread across major social media platforms, amassing more than 65,000 comments and at least 120,000 shares or reposts within days. The overwhelming majority of reactions condemned Bernal’s behavior, with many commenters expressing disgust at the casual, unapologetic racism on display. One widely liked comment read: “Ugh so terrible. And then he laughs like he cracked the best joke.” Notably, dozens of commenters identifying themselves as Mexican also issued collective apologies on behalf of their compatriot, stressing that Bernal’s offensive actions do not represent the views or behavior of the broader Mexican population. In the wake of the viral backlash, leadership of CITGEJ confirmed to the New York Post that Bernal had been removed from his post as organization president. Two days after the incident, on Sunday, Bernal released a formal public apology addressing the widespread circulation of the clip and the heated public reaction it sparked. “For that reason, I believe it is important to offer a public apology,” he wrote in the statement. “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 declined to attempt to justify his action or debate varying interpretations of the gesture, adding: “Throughout my personal and professional life, I have always tried to treat others with respect, and I will continue working to ensure that my actions consistently reflect those values.” The match itself ended with South Korea staging a second-half comeback to secure a 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic.