A small claims court in Colombia formally accepted a legal action this week against the Colombian national soccer team and two of its most popular players, Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez, in which an individual accuses them of “treason to the nation” in response to the existence of an artificial intelligence (AI) image of the players.
The bizarre situation was first reported on Monday by the Colombian Caracol news agency’s sports vertical, Gol Caracol, described as “a mix of a joke and a serious situation.” An individual identified as Francisco Javier Zuluaga of the capital, Bogotá, filed a tutela against the team and the two players mentioned. A tutela is a legal action in Colombia described as a “fast and simple” way to seek redress as an aggrieved party, typically in small claims court. It is slightly less formal than a lawsuit and sometimes translated as a “conservatorship” though it functions more similarly to civil charges against a defendant than the request of a conservatorship over a person in American law.
Gol Caracol confirmed that the tutela was accepted by the 3rd Small Claims Court of Suba, Bogotá, and that a judge has requested from the national soccer team Díaz and Rodríguez’s personal information to process the claim. The two men, along with the rest of the team, are currently in Guadalajara, Mexico, participating in the FIFA World Cup. Reports clarified that the court situation is not expected to interfere with their competing in the tournament in any way.
The Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported that Zuluaga filed charges against the players for “treason to the nation” and that, while few details are publicly available about the case, it appears to be a response to an AI image showing the two players performing a salute to celebrate a goal that has been associated in the past year with the presidential campaign of conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella, who won the Colombian presidential election race on Sunday. De la Espriella regularly appeared at campaign rallies and in campaign literature performing a standard hand salute and supporters of his campaign would also salute as a sign that they backed his bid to be president.
“The unusual case came about as a result of some images, created with artificial intelligence, of the celebration following one of the goals against the Uzbeks that went viral and was related to a gesture that Abelardo de la Espriella popularized during his presidential campaign,” El Tiempo explained.
The newspaper explained that Colombian courts must accept all complaints and formal legal actions, concluding the bureaucratic process by properly filling out the paperwork necessary. That does not necessarily mean, however, that the judge requesting the players’ information believes that the complaint has merit, the way that accepting or dismissing a lawsuit would require such an initial judgment in the United States. Notably, the Colombian outlet observed that none of the limited information publicly available about the complaint specifies any damages sustained by the plaintiff or what redress he expects from the Colombian national soccer team. The lack of specific demand for redress or identification of damages makes the case unlikely to progress in court.
Colombian journalist Carlos Antonio Velez, in a statement shared on social media, stated that he listened to the verbal complaint offered to the court and found it without substance.
“The so-called complaint against the [soccer] Federation… what a shame but the person who made it should visit a specialist… mental health must be protected,” Velez wrote. “Six minutes of a sleep, incoherent rant… the grave this is that a judicial authority exists that validated this.”
De la Espriella celebrated a narrow victory on Sunday against Senator Iván Cepeda, a radical leftist endorsed by incumbent President Gustavo Petro. Petro is the first leftist president in the history of the country and presided over a term defined by his vocal hostilities towards Israel; having his U.S. visa revoked for demanding the American military not follow its commander in chief, President Donald Trump; and being repeatedly accused of drug and alcohol addiction, including by his former foreign minister.
Under Petro, narco-terrorism and cocaine trafficking experienced a boom in the country, which had endeavored for decades under conservative presidents to contain the violence caused by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and similar terrorist organizations. De la Espriella became the frontrunner in the presidential race in a race in which the previous frontrunner, conservative Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, was murdered by a terror-linked child in June 2025.
De la Espriella ran a campaign in which he promised to prioritize law and order, empower police and the military to fight drug gangs and narco-terrorists, and promote family-centric policies. He regularly appeared in campaign publicity wearing the Colombian soccer jersey.
While most players on the national soccer team did not endorse a candidate, their appearance alongside Petro during a ceremony to say goodbye to them as they traveled to the World Cup in early June raised eyebrows, as many noticed the players “uncomfortable” and gloomy when forced to engage Petro. Leftist politicians in the country condemned the team for seeming unenthusiastic about Petro. Rodríguez, in particular, was the subject of controversy as a video allegedly showed Petro’s daughter Antonella requesting a photo with him during an official handshake ceremony and the soccer captain not responding. Rodríguez later did appear in a group photo with Antonella Petro, her father, and the rest of the team.
Colombia will play its second World Cup match on Tuesday night against the Democratic Republic of the Congo.