Felipe Pardo Celebrates Goal Against Nacional by Pointing at Away Fans, Sparks Controversy and Trends Again

A penalty, a gesture toward the away section and a line on Instagram. That was all it took for Felipe Pardo to trend again, once more for something that happened far from the scoreboard. And the scoreboard, this time, didn't do him many favors either.

Alianza fell 5-1 to Atletico Nacional in matchday eight of Liga BetPlay II-2026, a result that leaves the Valledupar side still winless in the tournament and stuck near the bottom of the table. The lone goal for the Valledupar club came from Pardo himself, on a penalty, in the 34th minute. That's where the story that really got people talking begins.

After pulling one back, the forward didn't stick around to celebrate with his teammates. He went straight toward the section where the Nacional fans were sitting, made a particular gesture with his hands and followed it up with other movements aimed at that part of the stadium. The stands responded with whistles and insults, and the cameras caught the whole scene, which quickly went viral.

On social media, several users claimed to have read some kind of insult directed at the Nacional faithful in the movement of his lips. The problem is there's no audio to confirm it and no official account of what Pardo actually said. The only thing that can be verified is what the footage shows: the celebration in front of the rival fans, nothing more and nothing less.

Another chapter in a tense relationship

This isn't new territory for Pardo, a well known Independiente Medellin fan and, as a result, a regular figure in the tension that exists between DIM and Nacional. Back in 2023, during an Antioquia derby, he had already done the "go to sleep" gesture, the one made popular by Dorlan Pabon, sparking a similar reaction from the green and white supporters. In 2025 he repeated the move with another particular celebration after scoring against Nacional, this time already wearing Alianza's jersey. In other words: every time Pardo faces Nacional, the match seems to turn into something personal for him, beyond the result.

A day after the incident, the forward posted a brief but direct message on his Instagram stories:

Let them talk... Just let them talkFelipe Pardo

He didn't mention the match, or Nacional, or the controversy over his celebration. But the timing of the post left little room for doubt about what he was referring to.

It remains to be seen whether the incident will carry any disciplinary consequences. That will depend on what ended up in the referee's report and on what the relevant authorities decide to review. In the meantime, Alianza has a more urgent problem to solve: the club still hasn't picked up a single win in the championship, and the rout at the hands of Nacional makes its current standing even more complicated.