The Venezuelan left-back Miguel Navarroof the Talleres-ARG, accused Paraguayan midfielder Damián Bobadilla, from São Paulo, from Xenophobia. The episode came after São Paulo’s second goal, 41 minutes into the second half. In celebration of the goal that defined Tricolor’s 2-1 victory, the Tallers players were nervous with Bobadilla and began to surround the São Paulo midfielder.
Moments later, Miguel Navarro began to cry on the field and wanted to get out of the match, but continued. The game was also paralyzed for a few minutes until its restart. After the game, Navarro spoke to “ESPN”, but declined to go into details about what happened.
– I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to go home. Yes (it was with Bobadilla). He knows what he said. Yes (I was offended) – said the Venezuelan.
In the locker room, Miguel Navarro wrote a vent on social networks:
“I wish I could have the solution to the hunger that lives my country in my hands.” I hope God gives me abundance to be able to help. I do not believe that much against mental poverty can be done.
I will never embarrass my roots, I will go to the last consequences in the face of xenophobia I lived today in Brazil, at the hands of Damián Bobadilla. In football there is no room for hate speeches.
📲 Miguel Navarro, via Instagram: “I wanted to have in my hands the solution to the hunger of my country, I hope God will give me abundance to help.
— Gabriel Sá (@OGObrielSa
Miguel Navarro denounced the issue and gave testimony to the Morumbis Military Police. He stated that Bobadilla called him “hunger dead.”
Police officers went to the São Paulo locker room to get Bobadilla’s testimony, but the athlete was no longer at the scene.
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Miguel Navarro: Player Career
Miguel Ángel Navarro Zárate, born February 26, 1999 in Maracaibo, Venezuela, has been at Tallers since January 2024. The 1.75m left-back began his professional career in 2017 for Deportivo JBL del Zulia, where she played 19 matches. In 2018, he moved to Deportivo La Guaira, playing in 42 games and scoring a goal by 2019.
In January 2020, Navarro went to Chicago Fire, from Major League Soccer (MLS), where he accumulated 97 matches over almost four years. In 2024, it was acquired by Colorado Rapids, but did not act by the club before being loaned to the same year.
In January 2024, Navarro arrived at Talleres on loan with purchase option. During the season, he participated in 37 matches in competitions such as the Argentine League, Copa Argentina and Copa Libertadores, contributing a goal in the victory over Huracán for the 25th round. In December 2024, Talleres exercised the purchase option, acquiring 100% of the player’s economic rights, which signed a contract until December 2027.
Navarro was a starter in winning the 2025 international supercop, when Talleres won River Plate on penalties, ending a 25 -year fast without official titles. In the 2025 season, he has played eight starting matches.
For the Venezuelan team, Navarro acted in the under-20 and under-23 categories, with 11 and 4 matches respectively. He debuted on the main team on March 25, 2022, in a match against Argentina for the World Cup qualifiers. Until November 2024, it accumulated 19 calls for the main national team. He stood out at the 2024 Copa America, starting in three of Venezuela’s four games, which reached the quarterfinals for the fourth time in his history.
Navarro is recognized for his physical power, tactical intelligence, defensive solidity and ability to support the attack. His ability to maintain possession of ball under pressure and contribute to both defensive and offensively make him a versatile and valuable player to Talleres and the Venezuelan team.
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