Football Timeline of another embarrassment: details of the violent incidents that marred the Copa America final in Miami

A crowd of Colombian national team fans entered the stadium without tickets and caused chaos at Hard Rock Stadium. This led to clashes between fans and security personnel. In their desire to enter at all costs to watch the final, many fans broke through the barriers and even broke part of the building. Thus began the sequence of the most embarrassing day of the controversial Copa América in the United States.

As the final approaches, Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s coach, had called for calm. “As I have a microphone, I have the chance to say it, we take care of transmitting this. It’s something basic. The images of the semi-final seem to be from 50 years ago and it was the other day. “I am sending this message which I think should be well received,” he noted.

“I hope this time it doesn’t happen, honestly, I hope it’s a party. I wish it with all my heart. “Our families and friends will be there, we can’t think that anything could happen,” he explained.

This Sunday, in the previous hours, there were arrests in the crush of supporters. The first incidents occurred at the southwest entrance of the Miami campus. Due to the chaos, the doors were closed for about 45 minutes, generating anger among those who wanted to enter and had a ticket.

When peace seemed to return, the doors opened. However, after a few moments, some individuals climbed the bars again. The incidents delayed the Copa America final from 8pm to 8:30pm. Then it was postponed again, to 8:45pm. Then it was said that at 9pm… Finally, the definition began after 9:20pm.

The owners of the Miami venue have demanded the expulsion of those who entered without tickets. “Thousands of fans without tickets tried to force their way into the stadium, putting other fans, security officers and law enforcement at risk,” they said in a letter posted on their social media. “Security has closed the gates to control the entry process at a much slower pace and ensure everyone’s safety,” they added.

“As a result, the start time of the match has been delayed until further notice to allow ticketed fans to gain entry. “All supporters without tickets must leave the stadium,” he stressed.

For its part, Conmebol issued an unusual statement in which it said very little. We inform you that people without tickets will not be able to enter the stadium. Only those who have purchased tickets will be able to enter once access is reactivated. they said in a brief letter.

The records stopped everything. Beyond the jumps over the bars, one of the most striking photographs is that of a group trying to enter the stadium through the ventilation tubes. FThe lack of control was such that at 8:20 p.m. it was decided to definitively open the doors of the Hard Rock Stadium. Despite attempts to prevent it, the organization decided to put an end to this evasion of controls.

Even the players’ families were not spared from the violence. “Alexis had to leave to let us in because he was worried. I thought the game wasn’t going to be played. If players were concerned about fixing this problem, it was unlikely that a match would take place. What happened was inhumane. We’re fine, Alexis was still calling us, but he said he was going to stay at the door until we came in. “We’re leaving him alone so he can play.” said Silvina Riela, mother of trans-Andean midfielder Mac Allister.