Colombia’s national soccer team experienced an awkward moment on Thursday during the team’s official FIFA World Cup sendoff ceremony, presided over by outgoing Marxist President Gustavo Petro.
The ceremony triggered an ongoing controversy for the team’s captain, soccer star James Rodríguez, amid accusations that he allegedly “snubbed” Petro’s youngest daughter, Antonella Petro, by refusing to take a photo with her.
Colombia is one of the 48 nations competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico and scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19. President Petro, who is in the final weeks of his highly controversial administration, presided over the official sendoff ceremony for the 26 Colombian soccer players who will represent their nation at the World Cup.
The event was held on Thursday at the Catam military air base in Bogotá, where the team boarded a plane on route to the United States. Antonella Petro, the president’s 17-year-old daughter, accompanied her father during the ceremony. The event was broadcast by Colombian state media and streamed online by the Colombian presidency.
The Spanish sports newspaper Marca reported that the event was closed to the press and announced at the “last minute” — noting that most of the Colombian soccer team members “appeared to have long faces” throughout the ceremony. Other outlets, such as ESPN Panama, observed that several Colombian soccer players appeared “uncomfortable and didn’t smile much.”
A controversy arose during a part of the ceremony that saw Petro shake hands with every player as he gifted a traditional sombrero vueltiao (“Turned Hat”) to each player as a parting gift. Marca explained that, when it was James Rodríguez’s turn to receive the gift and shake hands with Petro, Antonella Petro reportedly asked the Colombian team captain for a photo. Rodríguez continued walking down the aisle as protocol dictated without granting the request.
Rodríguez’s alleged refusal prompted the ongoing controversy for the 34-year-old Colombian soccer team captain, reportedly leading to backlash from sympathizers of the far-left president and members of his Historic Pact political coalition.
The Colombian sports outlet Bola VIP and other international outlets observed that Rodríguez was not in the first row holding the Colombian flag for the official sendoff photo. In the photo, published on Petro’s official social media accounts, Rodríguez is seen in the back row, barely visible in the photograph, and wearing sunglasses. The event’s protocol reportedly calls for the team captain to stand in the front row, holding the flag with the president.
Nicolás Alcocer Petro, President Petro’s stepson, reportedly condemned the soccer player on social media. According to the Argentine outlet Infobae, Alcocer Petro published an old photo of a younger Antonella Petro next to James Rodríguez that was reportedly taken during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
“She’s still the same little girl … who’s just wanted a photo with her idol ever since she was six years old … and whose first-ever goal celebration was for his goal against Uruguay. Everyone’s opinions are respected, but that’s not the example we should be setting off the field,” Alcocer Petro reportedly wrote.
Similarly, Bogotá Councilwoman Heidy Sánchez Barreto of the ruling Historic Pact leftist coalition accused the Colombian team of being “jerks” with the president’s daughter.
“Antonella is a little girl who loves soccer; her passion for cheering on the national team was genuine, they didn’t have to be such jerks. James Rodríguez, so macho with a little girl, but such a coward and a crybaby on the field. You’re a dad too, and I’m sure you’d never want your daughter to go through such a horrible snub,” she wrote on social media.
Colombia recently held the first round of the 2026 presidential election, which resulted in outsider conservative candidate Abelardo de la Espriella and far-left Senator Iván Cepeda heading to a runoff on June 21, with de la Espriella as the race’s frontrunner. President Petro has repeatedly said this week that he does not recognize the results of the election because, according to him, “fraud” was committed — contradicting statements from local and international authorities praising Colombia over the efficacy and transparency of its electoral system.
Although James Rodríguez has not publicly endorsed either of the two candidates, nor has he publicly disclosed much of his political beliefs, the 34-year-old Colombian soccer team captain has in the past reportedly expressed a favorable opinion of conservative former President Álvaro Uribe Velez. Speaking with the Colombian magazine Semana in June 2023, Rodríguez “laughed” when asked for his opinion of President Petro — who, at the time, was on the first of his soon-to-end four-year term.
“I’m not really involved in that sort of thing; I respect everyone. I just hope they act responsibly so that the country will always be in good shape, so that it keeps moving forward and never falls behind, because Colombia is an incredible country,” Rodríguez said at the time.
Asked by Semana in 2023 if he would agree with a hypothetical second presidential term, Rodríguez answered, “May he do things right in these four years, may he help the country, may he not benefit only a few people, but may he think of the whole country, and may he, when he completes four years in 2026, bring in other people who will help Colombia.”
Colombia’s constitution prohibits a president from being reelected and from ever running again or serving beyond a four-year term. Petro’s term is slated to end in early August, when he will be succeeded by either de la Espriella or Cepeda.
The Colombian soccer team will make its 2026 World Cup debut against Uzbekistan in Mexico City on June 17. Before that, the Colombian team will hold a friendly exhibition soccer match against Jordan at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, on June 8.
“Where are we going? San Diego, California. Full of Colombian pride to continue our preparation,” The Colombian national soccer team wrote on a Thursday social media post, posting photos of the team aboard the plane.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.