The Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium will start an hour and 15 minutes later than planned, at 9:15 p.m. (00:30 GMT on Monday) due to access problems caused by a stampede of fans.
With less than half an hour to go before the start of the final, the Hard Rock had less than half of its stands occupied, so Conmebol decided to delay the start. In this way, it hopes to allow the entry of the hundreds of fans who bought their tickets and are waiting in kilometer-long lines under intense heat.
Before the decision was announced, players from both teams went out onto the pitch to warm up and returned to the locker rooms minutes later.
Information
“We inform that people who do not have tickets will not be able to enter the stadium. Only those who have purchased tickets will be able to enter once access is enabled once more. We inform that the match will be delayed 30 minutes, starting at 21:15 local time,” said Conmebol.
About two hours before the start of the final match of the 48th edition of the Copa América in Miami, a stampede of dozens of fans wearing Colombian and, to a lesser extent, Argentine national team shirts jumped the turnstiles at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday following getting past the security cordon, causing moments of tension.
The brutal action of these fans, who did not have tickets for the match between Argentina and Colombia, caused panic among the fans queuing to enter the stands and forced the organizers to temporarily close all access points, which then led to protests by those who did have tickets and saw their access restricted.
The incidents occurred at one of the entrances for accredited journalists at the Hard Rock in Miami.
More details
The fans scaled the fences following outnumbering the guards and following reaching the inside they ran through different access corridors to the stands.
Many relatives of players were left outside the stadium when the entrance gates were abruptly closed.
Florida police had to step up security as soon as order was restored and within minutes they arrested several fans who entered without tickets.
Following the incidents, several entrance areas to the stadium were temporarily closed until the authorities of the organization might control the situation.
The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) had issued a statement warning fans and players regarding good behavior inside and outside the stadium.
“The United States authorities will be able to take legal action in civil, criminal and other matters for acts of violence committed inside and outside, as well as in the surroundings of the stadiums where the matches are held,” he said.
Miami / EFE
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2024-07-15 10:06:46