Brighton and Hove Albion have been forced to apologise for gross insensitivity towards their Asian followers after an image they posted of Kaoru Mitoma sparked serious outrage. The Seagulls’ reputation has been on the rise in recent seasons as they continue their push for regular European football, opening the club up to markets they had previously struggled to reach.
Much of that newfound marketability comes from Mitoma, the Japan international who has emerged as one of the most exciting talents in the Premier League in recent years. Meanwhile, they signed South Korean youngster Yoon Do-young in the summer before loaning him out, while the women’s side boasts three Japanese players and two South Korean stars.
However, Brighton have come under serious scrutiny after their social media team faced a major PR crisis, having seemingly overreached in trying to tap into their Asian market and inadvertently offending China in particular.
Brighton Forced To Apologise Following ‘Huge PR Crisis’
The club’s photo of Mitoma and an academy player holding up an FC26 Ultimate Team card quickly went viral and sparked outrage on a Chinese supporters’ page. On the FUT card, the image depicted a member of the Japanese Imperial Army, appearing to be Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, who served from 1942 to 1974.
Onoda had been declared dead by the Japanese government in 1959 while he was actually in hiding following the end of WWII. He later died on January 16, 2014, at the age of 91 in Tokyo from heart failure due to pneumonia. Labelled by The Sun as a “huge PR crisis,” the post went viral on the Chinese social media platform Weibo after being shared by an account with 10 million followers. See the now-deleted photo below:
Should have really seen that one coming lads #BHAFC https://t.co/Q2ZhFdIHfv pic.twitter.com/YIDNCxMPKs
— MwepuMagic (@MwepuMagic) November 28, 2025
The account is a popular hub for Premier League fans from East Asia. Given the atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Army in China during WWII, a little extra research from the club could have helped avoid this unnecessary controversy.
Brighton Release Statement on Controversial incident
The club insisted that they had “no intention” of offending anyone. A statement they released on X read (see the full post below):
“The club sincerely apologises for any offence caused in China by a recent post about our Academy’s participation in the Christmas Truce Cup. We hugely value our fans in China and had no intention of causing any offence.”
The club sincerely apologises for any offence caused in China by a recent post about our Academy’s participation in the Premier League Christmas Truce Tournament.
We hugely value our fans in China and had no intention of causing any offence.
— Brighton & Hove Albion Academy (@BHAFC_Academy) November 28, 2025
But it isn’t the first time the club has come under fire for offending their Asian market. As per Korean outlet The Chosun Daily, in July, Brighton faced severe backlash from Korean fans for announcing Yoon Do-young’s loan to Excelsior in the Netherlands with a post written in Japanese instead of Korean.
At the time, fans criticised the club’s poor understanding of Asian marketing, and this latest controversy is seen as a repetition of the same issue.
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