ATEEZ San Targeted With Racist, Xenophobic Comments After Viral Bad Dance. This Is Completely Unacceptable!

San took part in the ceremonial kickoff before a friendly match between Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in Seoul.

Hate from football fans toward K-pop idols has been around for years and shows no sign of stopping. Not long ago, San from ATEEZ got hit with heavy online criticism after he did his popular Bad dance at a football game. Thinking the move looks awkward or strange is fine, but throwing homophobic insults or racist and xenophobic comments goes way too far. Lots of people on the internet took their dislike much further and turned it into personal attacks.

San took part in the ceremonial kickoff before a friendly match between Manchester City and Atlético Madrid in Seoul. Organisers invited him to start the game with the first kick. He wore an Atlético Madrid jersey and performed his popular chest-pumping Bad dance move right there on the field. The crowd in the stadium clapped and cheered for him. Yet once videos of the dance spread on social media, some football fans from other countries reacted with strong anger.

They called the dance awkward and said it spoilt the tough image of the sport. Soon the comments grew much worse. Many users posted racist words, xenophobic insults, and homophobic terms aimed at San and at Asian culture in general. The hate poured in from people who felt the performance did not belong in football.

Fans of ATEEZ, known as Atinys, and other users quickly stepped in to support San. They pointed out that the dance was part of a planned show meant to bring different cultures together. They called the mean remarks pure prejudice and asked people to stop it.

Also Read: Football V/s K-Pop: Who Decides A Fandom Is Cool Or Cringe?

This kind of clash between football fans and K-pop artists has happened before and will probably happen again. People are free to dislike a dance or find it odd. Still, choosing to insult someone with gay slurs or racist words crosses a clear line. Online comments can cause real pain. Hence, everyone should pause and think carefully before passing comments that target a person’s race, background, or identity. Respect costs nothing, and the internet would be a better place if more users chose it.

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First Published: August 13, 2026 2:58 PM