Officials of the stadium were accused.. "CONMEBOL" disavows the chaos of the Copa America final.
The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) blamed the officials of the "Hard Rock" stadium in Miami, USA, for the chaos that led to the delay of the Copa America 2024 final between Argentina and Colombia for more than an hour.
The start of the match, which ended with Argentina winning (1-0) against Colombia and crowning them as continental champions for the 16th time in their history, was delayed by 80 minutes due to the crowd surge at the end of the continental tournament hosted by the United States.
CONMEBOL stated that the scenes following the attempt of thousands of ticketless fans to enter the stadium were due to the failure of local officials to adhere to established procedures. In a statement, CONMEBOL explained: "As is known, in the final match held in Miami, ticketless fans went to the area surrounding the stadium, causing a delay in the normal arrival of people with tickets."
The statement added: "This slowed down entry and resulted in the stadium gates being closed." The statement continued: "Due to this situation, the South American Football Confederation was subject to the decisions made by the Hard Rock stadium authorities, according to the specified contractual responsibilities for the security process."
It further stated: "In addition to the provisions specified in the mentioned contract, CONMEBOL recommended the mentioned authorities to follow procedures tested in events of this magnitude, which were not considered." The statement continued: "We regret that the acts of violence committed by malicious individuals marred the final match, which was on its way to being a great sporting celebration."
A statement previously issued by the stadium officials on the platform X (formerly Twitter) mentioned that "thousands of ticketless fans tried to forcibly enter the stadium, causing significant danger to other fans, security officers, and law enforcement." The statement revealed that the gates were closed "to control the entry process at a much slower rate and ensure everyone's safety."