“Fuels Racism…” — BTS Being “Used For Clout” By Argentina Football Team Sparks Backlash

July 19 marks the end of a summer of football action, as the final match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup pits Argentina against Spain.

The final match will also feature performers, among them is BTS, who are in the middle of their Arirang tour.

BTS HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED AT METLIFE STADIUM FOR THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL FOR REHERSAL!⚽️🏟️

I CAN HEAR"DYNAMITE"PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND…IS "DYNAMITE"GOING TO BE THE SONG THEY PERFORM, OR ARE WE GETTING"PTD"?

BTS AT WORLD CUP 2026⚽️#BTSxWORLDCUP2026#BTSHALFTIMESHOW pic.twitter.com/xrrG0Ig725

— ♡⃝ ·͙ꫂ ၴႅၴAisha⁷⊙⊝⊜ (@kimjeonayesha) July 19, 2026

Surprisingly, however, the group were drawn into a debate before the match or their performance began.

Ahead of the game, the Argentina National Football Team’s account tweeted a photo of several team members with an altered logo. The photo was a spoof of the image BTS used for the cover of Arirang.

BTS | BIGHIT MUSIC

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥,
𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

⏳🏆🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/rFpGt18CbC

— Selección Argentina in English (@AFASeleccionEN) July 18, 2026

As expected, the image quickly went viral, but not all reactions were positive.

Some of the negative reactions were based in game based rivalry, though some included the racism exhibited by some of the team’s fans during matches and the historical racism rooted in European superiority, as well Antisemitism in the country’s history.

take this shit down, dont ever disrespect bts like this AGAIN, esp comparing namjoon to messinyahu, youre going to hell for this wallahi https://t.co/hCYuFLC5gV

— #1 boniver & sope misser (@fyasope) July 18, 2026

don’t even compare BTS to these racist anti black team ever again you stupid a$$ b**** if anything Argentina and Messi are quite the representation of the big3 using their influence with FIFA to buy referees and rig the tournament the whole world despises u for a reason https://t.co/6C0C7PgUKa

— mary (@maryon4croxx) July 19, 2026

@amlysbang no sensible army will be happy seeing bts being associated with a national football team that receives privileges from fifa and fuels racism of their fans. so don't expect us to respect argentina, especially when you're not on the latin american side!!! https://t.co/NISE2SgSzG

— alyy⁷ (@ywhh07) July 19, 2026

Others thought that the promotion should be viewed as just that, rather than focusing on soccer rivalries.

I genuinely think one of the biggest things holding BTS back isn't a lack of opportunities but how some fans react to those opportunities.

Everyone says they want "general public recognition." But the moment a football federation, an athlete, an influencer, or a random creator… pic.twitter.com/BTuDEKrPQU

— ♡ (@amlysbang) July 19, 2026

the way some of you are behaving like It's end of the world when this is a great exposure for bts to football fans… y'all are not thinking right, that's not how we behave for the sake of bts, games are silly but gp gonna pick up what we feed to them 🙂 https://t.co/Z8w3VbdaJ5

— Lizz💤🥢⊙⊝⊜ taegi enthusiasts ᯓᡣ𐭩 (@polarnight613) July 19, 2026

“Oh no, a racist country” 😭😭 Meanwhile BTS are from South Korea. Why do you act like BTS and South Korea have never had racism-related controversies? You’re just following the trend of hating Argentina. You don’t actually care about racism. https://t.co/l1hQF9hxwi

— YNAA ᥫ᭡🇦🇷🇫🇷 (@mzrrr_mk) July 19, 2026

BTS are one of several performers that will perform during the 11 minute half-time show.

BTS