Birmingham City FC has come under scrutiny from fans of the K-pop group BTS, following allegations that the football club used a logo closely resembling that of the globally renowned band. The controversy arose shortly after the club announced the signing of South Korean midfielder Paik Seung Ho, marking a historic moment as he became the first South Korean player to join Birmingham City FC.
The club’s celebration of Paik’s signing on social media platform X, however, sparked an immediate backlash from BTS’s dedicated fanbase, known as ARMY. The contentious post featured a logo for Paik Seung Ho’s “coming soon” announcement that bore a striking similarity to the BTS emblem, prompting widespread confusion among fans.
ARMY members quickly took to social media to express their bewilderment and displeasure, with many questioning the originality and intentions behind Birmingham City FC’s design choice. Comments ranged from inquiries such as “What’s this?” and expressions of confusion to more critical voices highlighting the resemblance and speculating on potential copyright infringement issues.
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Some fans even called for BTS’s label, HYBE, to take legal action against the football club for what they perceived as blatant plagiarism. One fan stated, “What in the world is this? I don’t even know the context behind this post (a collab? I don’t think so..) but, good luck then! because this logo is trademarked by the logo’s owner (it’s @BTS_twt, you know?) so I hope u have a good lawyer team.” Another added, “According to the world, BTS = South Korea. Y’all are right, but be prepared for the lawsuit.”
As of now, Birmingham City FC has not publicly responded to the allegations or the fans’ outcry over the logo’s resemblance to that of BTS.
