LAFC Fan Accused of Repeatedly Shouting "Nihao" at South Korean Star Son Heung-min: Video Sparks Racism Microaggression Debate, Fans Call for Season Ticket Revocation, Report Mentions No Club Statement
LOS ANGELES, California — After Los Angeles FC's 2-2 draw with the LA Galaxy at BMO Stadium on Sunday, a video circulating on social media showed a fan in LAFC gear repeatedly shouting "nihao" at South Korean star Son Heung-min as Son circled the field to thank fans after the game. The New York Post reported on the video on October 26, describing the act as an insensitive racist microaggression against a South Korean player.
"Nihao" is the Mandarin Chinese word for "hello." Son is an LAFC winger and South Korean national team player. The video showed Son noticing the fan and glaring at him. The X account @peachyson7, which posted the video, wrote that it had spoken with security, but since the fan had left Section 111 by then, security said there was little they could do; the post added: "@LAFC this man straight up yelled nihao nihao at Sonny when he circled the field to thank the fans after the game. Since when was racism accepted in @MLS."
After the clip surfaced, some fans called for the season ticket holder identified by other fans to have his access revoked. The report mentioned no statement from LAFC on the incident. A separate fan confrontation video from the same match has also circulated on social media, but this report covers only the "nihao" shouting video and does not merge the two videos into one incident.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：洛杉矶 BMO 体育场航拍（资料图，非本场比赛实景）。照片：Quintin Soloviev，CC BY 4.0，经维基共享资源。 / Aerial view of BMO Stadium in Los Angeles (file photo, not this match). Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
