Abelardo de la Espriella will no longer be able to wear a football uniform as a “symbol” of his party; lawyer disputes Presidency in the 2nd round
The Colombian court banned the presidential candidate (Defensores de La Patria, right) to wear the national team uniform in acts related to their electoral campaign. The 47-year-old lawyer and businessman is competing in the 2nd round of with the senator (Historic Pact, left).
Judge Aura Luz Forero’s decision prevents Espriella from wearing the Colombian team’s shirt “as an identifying symbol of your political party, your campaign or your personal image in public spaces or in any medium”including social media and interviews with media outlets. The ban is valid from this Thursday (June 4, 2026).
The measure responds to complaints from the left, led in the 2nd round by Cepeda, political heir of the current president, (Colombia Humana, left). Espriella’s opponent accuses him of “to steal” the symbol and to appropriate the team’s uniform, especially on the eve of the start of the World Cup.
According to the judge, the use of uniform “creates an identification of the selection with a specific candidacy and compromises the neutrality of national symbols”, and turns it into “a symbol different from the one for which it was created and designed”.
The candidate had been wearing the team’s t-shirt at electoral events since the 1st round, a practice popularized by the right in Brazil during the 2013 demonstrations and widely used by former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and his political group.
Espriella was the candidate with the most votes in the 1st round in Colombia and voting intention polls in the 2nd round, which will be held on June 21st. Having never run for elected office before, he bases his speech on strong admiration for leaders such as Donald Trump (Republican Party), in the United States, Nayib Bukele (Nuevas Ideas, right), in El Salvador, and Javier Milei (La Libertad Avanza, right), in Argentina.
The lawyer is known as “El Tigre” among his supporters and uses a military salute as a symbol at events, election rallies and on social media.
