TV personality Jonathan Yiombi became the target of online abuse after the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Uzbekistan at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a result that officially ended South Korea’s tournament campaign.
On June 28, the Democratic Republic of Congo secured an impressive victory over Uzbekistan in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. The result eliminated South Korea from the tournament, marking the first time since the 2018 World Cup that the Korean national team failed to advance beyond the group stage.
Following the heartbreaking exit, some frustrated football fans turned their anger towards Jonathan simply because he was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His social media accounts were soon flooded with malicious comments from distraught supporters.
Among the messages left under Jonathan’s latest post were comments such as: “Be honest, you were secretly rooting for Congo, right?”, “Why haven’t you apologized to us yet?”, and “It’s because of you that our national team failed to reach the round of 32.”
However, many netizens quickly jumped in to defend the entertainer, criticizing those who directed their frustration at him. Supportive comments included: “Why do people pick on Jonathan?” and “Jonathan did nothing wrong.”
Jonathan has previously shared that although he was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he moved to Gwangju, South Korea, when he was still in elementary school. He explained that he had very few memories of his home country and had considered himself Korean for a long time.
Sources: Nate
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