From the field to politics: understand the discomfort between James Rodríguez and Petro on the eve of the World Cup

James Rodríguez (on the left), player of the Colombia national football team, greets Gustavo Petro (in yellow shirt), Colombian president, and his daughter Antonella (on the right), at a farewell event for the World Cup on June 4, 2026.
Disclosure/Presidency of Colombia
Colombia has experienced discomfort in recent days due to an incident between Antonella, daughter of president Gustavo Petro, and James Rodríguez, star of the national team national, on the eve of the World Cup.
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The controversy began last Thursday (4), when Antonella asked James to take a photo with her, but was ignored. The incident occurred at an official government event to bid farewell to the team towards the World Cup.
The players were lined up passing by to greet Antonella and the president, who gave each player a "sombrero vueltiao", a traditional Colombian hat and one of the country's symbols. Petro's daughter, who said she had James as her football idol, seemed visibly downcast after having her request ignored by the player.
⚽ The Colombian team left for Guadalajara, Mexico, where it will have its training center during the World Cup, which will be played between June and July in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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The scene quickly went viral on social media, and James was criticized on social media for his attitude. Some internet users raised the hypothesis that he is right-wing and doesn't like Petro, who is left-wing - the theory, however, was not confirmed. The player did not publicly comment on the case until the last update of this report.
During the weekend, Antonella took control of the controversy and sought to minimize it with videos published on her social networks. She admitted she "broke down" when James didn't respond to her request for the photo, but asked the Colombian population to support the team during the World Cup. She also showed a national team shirt signed by all the players as a gift to Petro.
"I'm passionate about football and I wrote letters every day to James. (...) When I saw you coming close, my eyes lit up. You're my idol, my reference. I started playing football because of you, and when you gave me your hand [just], I kind of collapsed a little inside," said Antonella.
In a later video, she revealed that James contacted her via social media and promised take the photo with her. The player hinted that he didn't hear Antonella's request:
"Antonella, this photo will come out! Besides, you can count on my shirt. Thank you for your support for me and all my teammates. (...) See you soon. P.S.: Next time, speak a little louder to me", James wrote in the message.
In a statement about the controversy on Saturday (6), Petro reminded James that he already knew his daughter, and also said that he doesn't like protocol and that politics it shouldn't be the most important thing at this moment.
"James, you greeted me out of protocol - and I don't like protocol. And you already knew my daughter before, because I introduced her to you when she was very little, when I was mayor of Bogotá. I'm sorry you forgot, because she adored you. The political ideas you may have don't take me away from the common goal of you winning and being the best", said Petro.
James Rodríguez has no public stances on politics and seeks to avoid the topic. The Colombian Football Federation said in a statement that "there is room for all political positions in the national team."

Source: G1

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