Spain and Netherlands players have sparked outrage after appearing to mock the haka just days out from the opening match of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
New Zealand hosted the tournament alongside Australia, beginning Thursday July 20.
On Monday, vision of Spanish team members laughing and jumping in the air while attempting the traditional Māori war dance was briefly posted to social media before being taken down.
The haka is regularly performed by New Zealand national sporting sides ahead of matches.
According to reports, the act was captured during the Spanish teams first training session in New Zealand, where they are based ahead of the World Cup.
The players are understood to be saying "we have already acclimatised".
Spain kick-off their tournament campaign against Costa Rica in Wellington on July 21.
The display sparked outrage online, with one user labelling the incident "disrespectful", another calling the players "morons" and another commenting "and this is funny how exactly" to a repost of the vision.
Popular New Zealand-born Samoan actor Jay Laga'aia wrote "You come to our house and disrespect our culture! You not only let your team and your country down. You let your family down!"
"I am sure that your mothers and fathers are proud that you chose an international stage to show off your ignorance. Just go home!" he wrote.
Additional footage appears to show a Dutch player similarly imitating the haka surfacing.
A Maori physical education expert from New Zealand's Otago University, Dr Jeremty Hapeta said while he understands their actions may have intended to be light-hearted it remains "disturbing" to see.
"At one level it might be passed off as just a bit of mockery, but at a deeper level it's actually quite disturbing," Dr Hapeta told New Zealand's 1News.
"I think while they were bold enough to do such a thing, they should also be brave enough to come out publicly and apologise for it, because that would go some way towards repairing or reconciling some of the damage that has been caused.
"It would be nice for them while they're out here to take the opportunity to explore our Māori culture and learn a bit more of the depth and richness that underpins a ritual like (the) haka, and to do some upskilling themselves off the football pitch."
"I know that FIFA have been putting out some messaging to the teams to not do what they've actually done, and it doesn't seem to be that the message got through to the Spanish team on this occasion.
"It would be great for the tournament organisers to reinforce the importance of indigenous cultures down here in Aotearoa and Australia and to ensure that these kinds of instances don't occur throughout the rest of the tournament."
FIFA are understood to have distanced themselves from the incidents, reportedly stating "As this is a team matter we won't be making any comment".
