Mexican Engineer Ulises Bernal Miramontes Faces Backlash Over Racist Slant-Eye Gesture at World Cup

A viral video tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup shows a man making a racist “slant-eye” gesture toward South Korean content creator @inocat_t during a match between South Korea and the Czech Republic.

“South Korean influencer @inocat_t posts a video on Instagram on June 12, where she was filming herself during a World Cup game when a man seated behind her made a slant-eye gesture to her”

@globaltimesnews

The Asia Business Daily’s 아시아경제 said Inonyang posted the video on June 12 (Korean time) after watching the Group A first-round match at Estadio Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Mexico, and identified the gesture as “Slant Eye.”

@globaltimesnews

Global Times said the influencer captioned the clip with “You traveled across the world for the World Cup…and experienced racism…”, and described the gesture as widely seen as racism among Asian people.

Global Times reported that the video has amassed 26.4 thousand comment and 45.3 thousand share, while the match itself ended with South Korea coming from behind to beat Czechia 2-1.

The controversy intensified after some netizens identified the man as Ulises Bernal Miramontes, President of the College of Surveying Geomatics Engineers of the State of Jalisco in Mexico, though Global Times said it could not independently verify the identity of the individual.

아시아경제 said local media outlets such as Infobae and Politico reported the man is believed to be Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes, president of the Jalisco Association of Surveyors and Geomatics Engineers (CITGEJ) in Mexico.

The same article said Politico described the action as a “shameful act,” and noted that some local netizens commented, “He should step down from the presidency.”

Global Times

Global Times reported that some netizens accused the man of making “Mexicans look bad at the Mundial 2026,” while others argued “in Mexico we don’t do those things with the intention of being racist” and insisted “it’s not that serious”.

Global Times also said a self-identified Mexican netizen in Reddit’s South Korea community posted an apology, writing that “that jerk doesn't represent everyone in my country.”

Global Times added that social media profiles reportedly set to private after the incident, and that some users tagged the alleged organization linked to the man calling on it to “remove him from office.”

The Global Times account tied the controversy to the tournament schedule, saying South Korea and Mexico are scheduled to meet at Guadalajara Stadium in Mexico on June 18.

“Who is Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes”

PopRant

Global Times also reported that 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.

PopRant said the man identified as Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes is president of the College of Topographic Engineers of the State of Jalisco, commonly known as CITGEJ, and that critics argued public figures should be held to higher standards of conduct.

PopRant quoted a user on X saying, “There is no excuse for this in 2026. We should know better by now,” as the clip spread across platforms including X, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

As the backlash continued, 아시아경제 said that as of now, neither Miramontes himself nor the related organization has issued an official statement, leaving the controversy unresolved heading into the June 18 meeting.