Copa America final postponed: Hard Rock Stadium breached by ticketless fans for Argentina vs. Colombia

Hard Rock Stadium went into lockdown shortly before the scheduled start time of the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia, with the kick-off time delayed by more than an hour due to security concerns caused in part by ticketless fans attempting to enter the venue.

Supporters broke through the gates around 6 p.m. local time, two hours before the match was due to start. Videos soon appeared on social media showing fans running past security guards and dodging those on the ground to scan tickets. Several fans are suspected of not having tickets for the sold-out game at Hard Rock Stadium, which seats 75,000 people. Several supporters entered the stadium, including the family of Colombian Daniel Munoz – his mother was in tears and his grandmother lost a shoe when he entered. according to The Athletic.

At least seven people were treated and at least ten people were arrested during the incident USA today.

Closed gates

About half an hour after the breach, security officials closed the gates of Hard Rock Stadium as thousands of people remained trapped outside the stadium on a hot and humid day in Miami Gardens. Security switched on and off between letting fans in, but only let supporters in at a glassy pace. With about an hour to go until kickoff, only two gates were open, but the gates were closed again with 40 minutes to go before the match started, per The Athletic.

“Fans were pouring in when they opened the gate and that’s why they closed all the gates and didn’t open them at all,” said CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Jenny Chiu, who is on site at Hard Rock Stadium. “They don’t have the infrastructure for this. They don’t have robbery equipment. They don’t have the security they need and that’s very clear.”

Players left the locker room at one point to check on their family members, some even venturing into the chaos outside to make sure their loved ones got into the stadium safely. Argentina’s Alexis Mac Allister was one of those players and his mother described the situation as “inhumane” after entering the Hard Rock Stadium.

Several reports also emerged that a small number of fans fainted while waiting to be allowed into Hard Rock Stadium.

Delayed kickoff

Players normally started warming up about 45 minutes before the originally scheduled 8 p.m. kick-off time, but after about 15 minutes they were whisked away by security as soon as officials declared a lockdown. The tournament organizers initially postponed the kick-off by half an hour, while the stadium was about half full. As the situation calmed down and security slowly allowed people to trickle in, the start of the match was moved to 8.45pm and then to 9.15pm before starting shortly afterwards.

“We had several serious incidents leading up to the opening of the gates of Hard Rock Stadium for the Copa America finals,” Miami-Dade police said in a statement. statement issued on social media. “These incidents are the result of the unruly behavior of fans trying to enter the stadium. We ask that everyone please be patient and adhere to the rules set forth by our officials and Hard Rock Stadium staff. We are actively working with Hard Rock Stadium to ensure a safe environment for all attendees. Unruly behavior will get you expelled and/or arrested. We have a zero-tolerance policy against unruly behavior from all attendees.”

CONMEBOL reiterated that statement with its own message.

“We would like to inform you that persons without tickets will not be allowed into the stadium,” the spokesperson said. CONMEBOL wrote. “Only those with purchased tickets will be allowed entry once admission reopens.”

Persistent problems

The gates reopened shortly before 8:15 p.m. and fans began entering the stadium at a much more normal pace, but staff on site began allowing fans in without checking their tickets, despite concerns about ticketless fans at the start of the event . .

Several fans were seen seeking water and medical attention upon entering Hard Rock Stadium, likely due to the effects of spending a long time on a steamy day. In the early evening, temperatures in Miami Gardens reached 30°C, with the climate cooling only marginally once the sun set.

However, staff’s failure to check tickets led to fans entering without tickets and created safety concerns at Hard Rock Stadium. Ticketless supporters reportedly hung out in the stairwells between sections, in emergency exits and in VIP sections of the stadium, according to multiple reports. In some cases they also sat in seats that were not theirs, with security at the stadium allegedly telling those with tickets that there was nothing they could do.

Fans who didn’t get in as easily still tried to sneak into the stadium as soon as the gates opened, finding unconventional ways to do so, such as crawling through the stadium’s air vents to get a peek at the action.

However, minutes after the match started, stadium security slowly started checking the tickets of those in the venue and started kicking them out. It took almost the entire first half to clear most of the ticketless fans and it is currently unclear how many fans actually left Hard Rock Stadium.

Many ticketed fans, some of whom spent hundreds and thousands of dollars to do so, were essentially denied entry to the stadium amid all the chaos.

A worrying trend

It marks the latest security problem at the Copa America, which has been plagued by organizational failures by South American football’s governing body, CONMEBOL. Just four days earlier, Uruguayan players ventured into the stands of Charlotte’s Bank of America to battle Colombian supporters after their 1-0 defeat in the semi-finals. Uruguay’s Jose Maria Gimenez claimed his team started the brawl because Colombian supporters were endangering the families of the Uruguayan players in that section, saying there was “not a single police officer” to guard their loved ones during the match.

The security problem at Hard Rock Stadium is reminiscent of the final of the pandemic-delayed European Championship three years ago, when thousands of ticketless fans packed into London’s Wembley Stadium to watch Italy beat England on penalties. Eighty-six people were arrested in connection with the event and 19 police officers were injured.