A pair of US-based television hosts were indefinitely suspended on Thursday after using racist ‘slant-eye’ gestures during a live broadcast in the aftermath of South Korea’s World Cup victory over Germany on Wednesday that ensured Mexico’s passage into the knockout stages.

James Tahhan and Janice Bencosme, co-presenters of Telemundo’s morning show Un Nuevo Día, could be seen using their fingers to narrow their eyes amid the on-set celebration of the Asian country’s improbable 2-0 win over the reigning world champions.

'Homophobic and not very clever': why puto chants haunt Mexican football Read more

The immediate outcry from viewers only redoubled as footage of the gesture spread on social media, prompting Telemundo, the Miami-based Spanish language network which is part of NBC Universal, to take disciplinary action on Thursday.

Miguel Hernandez (@Techivist) Dear @Telemundo @TelemundoSports & @TLMDPR , whoever this guy is on the left needs to get fired ASAP for being a racist on air. If someone were to say or make racist gestures about Latinx folks we'd ALL be up in arms & this is no different #SayNoToRacism #TelemundoMundial pic.twitter.com/SvzSednPAd

“We are extremely disappointed with our morning show contributors James Tahhan’s and Janice Bencosme’s gestures referring to the South Korean national soccer team,” the network said in a statement issued on Thursday. “Our company takes this kind of inappropriate behavior very seriously as it is contrary to our values and standards.”

Tahhan, the Venezuelan restauranteur known as Chef James, issued a statement on Twitter in both English and Spanish offering an apology for a “lack of sensitivity on my part”.

He added: “I admit that I did something wrong and wanted to apologize to anyone who was offended by it.”

The Taegeuk Warriors’ upset of Germany prompted wild celebrations among supporters in Mexico City, where hundreds of fans descended on the South Korean embassy and hoisted consul general Han Bjoung-yin onto their shoulders amid chants of “¡Coreano, hermano, ahora eres mexicano!” (“Korean, brother, now you’re Mexican!”)

Argentina legend Diego Maradona was accused by an ITV presenter of making a similar gesture toward a group of South Korea fans during a group-stage match between Argentina and Iceland earlier this month, though the encounter was not captured on camera and he was not disciplined.

Last week Mexico’s soccer federation was fined $10,000 for “discriminatory and offensive” homophobic chants during their opening win against Germany.

Last fall Houston Astros’ Yuli Gurriel was caught making the offensive expression after hitting a home run off Japanese star Yu Darvish during the World Series. That earned the Cuban a five-game ban from Major League Baseball.