Copa América final chaos: Argentina-Colombia delayed, fans stuck outside after gates breached

Chaos and horror consumed the Copa América final prior to kickoff in Miami, where thousands of fans were stuck and increasingly crushed outside Hard Rock Stadium gates as security tried, and apparently failed, to manage the inflow of spectators for Sunday’s game between Argentina and Colombia.

For an extended period of time in the hour before a scheduled 8 p.m. kickoff, all stadium gates were closed. Organizers announced that kickoff had been delayed until at least 8:30. It was later pushed back to at least 9:15.

Fans, meanwhile, were suffering. Children were crying. Multiple people reportedly passed out. Multiple men were bloodied by police. As security refused to let fans enter, the crush toppled a barrier, as kids and parents squealed and screamed in panic.

Around 8:15, with the situation worsening, gates opened, and fans were reportedly allowed to enter without scanning their tickets — the only apparent solution.

The chaos seemingly began when some reportedly un-ticketed fans — it’s not clear how many — breached at least one main entry gate. They streamed toward the stadium concourse, with police and security personnel chasing after them.

The breach provoked a forceful police response, and then a lockdown of the breached gate, which seemed to exacerbate the chaos. Even a man holding up a credential was brutally tackled.

Authorities responded by eventually closing all stadium gates.

This left many ticketed fans — including, reportedly, family members of multiple players — unable to enter, and stuck in a mass of people, sweating in sweltering heat and South Florida humidity.

Prior to the full closure, for a brief time, they were letting fans in one by one, with a dozen officers lining the entryway.

But more still were congregating outside, expecting to enter. Many had paid hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for tickets.

Multiple journalists on the scene said they and others were told by police to stop filming the chaos, which will raise all sorts of critical questions about the preparedness of CONMEBOL, the South American soccer confederation in charge of the Copa América, and local organizers in Miami.

The Copa is not the first soccer tournament to struggle with crowd control. But these horrifying scenes — four days after a semifinal ended in a player-fan brawl — fall in line with the tournament’s wide-ranging disorder.

Videos of Sunday’s disorder began to spread shortly after gates opened, in the 5 p.m. hour.

The Miami-Dade Police Department later said in a statement that there had been “several incidents prior to the gates opening,” which had “been a result of the unruly behavior of fans trying to access the stadium.”

CONMEBOL released a statement warning fans that those “who do not have tickets will not be able to enter the stadium.” While that statement rang hollow, fans who did have tickets were also unable to enter the stadium:

Fans were also resorting to unusual means to gain entry into the venue. Video posted to social media showed people attempting to climb through the vents to get in.

Additionally, fans aren’t the only ones having difficulty getting into the stadium. CONCACAF staff are also still outside the gates trying to enter, according to reporter Simon Evans.

As Evans said, CONCACAF staff has no role in match day operations and that was pointed out to those asking questions about the chaotic situation, via The Athletic’s Felipe Cárdenas.

During halftime, stadium officials commented on the situation through a spokesperson, via USA Today’s Safid Deen.

“In collaboration with CONMEBOL and law enforcement officers, the decision was made to open the stadium gates for a short period of time to all fans in order to prevent stampedes and serious injury at the perimeter,” said the statement.

“There was serious concern of fans being crushed in an attempt to enter,” the statement continued. “Law enforcement and security personnel were immediately deployed throughout the stadium and surrounding area to keep fans as safe as possible in light of this unprecedented situation.”

It’s unclear how many fans ultimately did get in. Hard Rock Stadium holds roughly 65,000. According to reports, some fans were arriving at their purchased seats to find other fans already in them.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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