The beginning of the Copa América closing on Sunday was delayed by over an hour after unruly followers created absolute chaos exterior of the occasion … and other people’s conduct did not get significantly better as soon as motion lastly acquired underway — as components of the stadium had been left destroyed.
The 2024 Copa América closing between Argentina and Colombia was delayed after followers with out tickets breached Arduous Rock Stadium in Miami and precipitated destruction to the stadium.
Principally Columbia followers sporting yellow and crimson colours might be seen hopping over the safety railings close to… pic.twitter.com/EJwzAcvCPP
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) July 15, 2024
@RedWave_Press
The extremely anticipated Argentina vs. Colombia recreation was slated to kick off at 5 PM PT at Arduous Rock Stadium in Miami … however when supporters from either side bum-rushed gates in an effort to illegally achieve entrance to the competition, officers put a pause on the whole lot.
Copa América championship recreation delayed 30 min due to followers coming into with no ticket. Followers broke down partitions to get into this stadium, gates at Arduous Rock Stadium have been breached, officers actually chasing supporters all through the stadium, folks moving into the sport… pic.twitter.com/gI6zt2Cgb3
— Ivano Panetti (@ivanopanetti) July 15, 2024
@ivanopanetti
Take a look at some pictures from the skin of the venue … it was full mayhem. Followers climbed fences, packed gates, scaled partitions — and even slogged by vents in makes an attempt to get by safety to catch the championship recreation in-person.
It acquired so scary, officers truly needed to shut off gates utterly … and mentioned they solely reopened them for a quick time to “forestall stampedes and severe harm on the perimeter.” Gates had been then closed as soon as the stadium was deemed to be at capability.
The sport lastly kicked off at round 6:30 PM … and it was a very good one — Lionel Messi‘s Argentina squad was capable of pull out a 1-0 victory — however the drama away from the pitch did not cease.
Followers complained that individuals who did not have tickets had been squatting of their seats and refused to go away. Others had been seen on video making messes all throughout the venue — littering the bottom with popcorn. An escalator was additionally demolished within the dysfunction.
Right here is the video when the escalator broke or the short aftermath.
📸 @ONLYinDADE #CopaAmerica #Colombia #Argentina pic.twitter.com/Qx4UeGZjJu
— Favian Renkel (@FavianRenkel) July 15, 2024
@FavianRenkel
Police mentioned a number of arrests had been made.
As for Arduous Rock Stadium, officers mentioned in a press release launched early Monday morning that “important harm” was performed to the venue … though they had been “grateful to the legislation enforcement officers who managed a troublesome state of affairs and prioritized the security of the venue, the gamers, their households and the followers.”
¿Por qué? ¿Por qué imbeciles? ¿Por qué hacen esto? pic.twitter.com/8g5bk7JxlH
— Beto Coral (@Betocoralg) July 15, 2024
@Betocoralg
“We are going to proceed to work with legislation enforcement to establish and maintain criminals accountable who engaged in unlawful conduct,” they mentioned. “It’s disappointing {that a} evening of celebration was impacted by illegal and unsafe conduct.”
They added they’re launching a probe to make sure comparable conditions by no means occur once more.
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It was not the one ugly scene that went down at this yr’s Copa América match … simply days prior, Uruguay’s Darwin Núñez leaped into the stands following a recreation in Charlotte towards Colombia and brawled followers.
