- Surprises, debates and crowds in the stands of the stadiums were part of the controversies during the first matches of the football competition. Photo: EFE/ John G. Mabanglo
The group stage of the 2024 Copa América ended with Argentina as leader of Group A, Venezuela of BUruguay from Group C and Colombia from Group D.
The runners-up in each group were Ecuador, Canada, Brazil and Panama, who now face the qualifiers in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The group stage was marked by unexpected results, with Venezuela standing out by achieving three consecutive victories for the first time in its history.
In addition, this phase also presented some controversies such as the blessing of an evangelical pastor during the opening ceremony of the Copa América.
Other aspects that have generated debate are the state of the pitches, racism on social media towards some players, sanctions imposed on coaches and refereeing errors that were not corrected by the VAR.
Evangelical blessing at the opening of the Copa America
During the opening ceremony of the 2024 Copa América, Emilio Agúero Esgaib, an ultra-conservative evangelical pastor close to Conmebol president Alejandro Domínguez, performed an act of blessing from the center of the field at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
“God bless America. Christ’s message is still relevant today. He called us to peace, understanding and forgiveness. He also told us to ‘believe,’ because for those who believe, all things are possible. God bless all the nations of America, each team and each athlete, all the fans and leaders. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen!” were the words of the evangelical pastor.
This blessing sparked controversy on social media, as the rules for this type of tournament expressly prohibit any political or religious demonstration.
Criticism of the state of the pitches in the stadiums
Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni has pointed out some criticisms of the state of the pitches in stadiums in the United States.
“They knew we had to play seven months ago and they changed the grass two days ago,” Scaloni said.
Later, Chile coach Ricardo Gareca also complained that the stadium grounds were “dry and narrow.”
However, Conmebol said that the standard 100×64 measurements were chosen to standardize the game and attributed the complaints about the state of the playing fields to an “aesthetic perception on the part of the players.”
The replacement of synthetic turf with natural turf, which resulted in uneven pitches, and the dimensions of fields designed for American football also sparked controversy in public opinion.
Racist attacks on social media
Canadian footballer Möise Bombito was targeted on social media with racist attacks after he was involved in a harsh tackle against Argentine Lionel Messi.
Some American players, such as Tyler Addams, have denounced racist insults directed at Canadian players by fans on social media.
In fact, the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) issued an official statement rejecting this type of action.
“In light of the case of racism that emerged after the 2024 Copa América match between Canada and Chile, Conmebol reiterates its commitment to fighting acts of racism and any type of violence on social media,” the statement, which was posted on social media, began by saying, according to the text published on June 30.
Sanctions against coaches
Conmebol’s rules 104 and 105 led to the suspension of four coaches, who had to watch the match from the stands: Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Ricardo Gareca (Chile), Fernando Batista (Venezuela) and Marcelo Bielsa (Argentina). All of them were sanctioned because their teams returned to the field late after the break.
The coaches argued that the delay was due to the great distance between the pitch and the changing rooms. However, Conmebol responded that the size of the pitches was not an excuse.
Uruguayan Jorge Fossati, Peru’s coach, spoke out about the controversy, even though he was not one of those sanctioned.
“It would be worth adjusting to see if we are given the necessary time, so that we don’t make the serious mistake of coming out a couple of minutes late and we, the coaches, are responsible for it, as if we told the players to come out later and we were responsible for a player staying longer,” he told reporters before the match with Argentina at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Similarly, Diego Reyes, Marcelo Bielsa’s assistant, explained why it is not possible to be so strict about the time to return to the field after the break.
“During a match, there are many activities that take place in that short period of time. There is a journey from the pitch to the locker room, which has to be taken into account, and then there is a technical talk, there is a break for the players, there are things that happen in the locker room or a player changing clothes or someone who has to go to the bathroom,” Reyes explained.
Controversy over refereeing and VAR
A debate also arose on social media about the use of VAR (video assistance to referees) to validate refereeing decisions in confusing situations.
Among the most talked about were the non-expulsion of Canadian Möise Bombito for assaulting a Chilean player, having conceded a goal to Uruguay against the United States that seemed to be offside and disallowing a goal that seemed to be valid for Colombia against Brazil.
Former World Cup referee Javier Castrilli was one of those who criticised the work of the referees during the group stage of the competition via his X account (formerly Twitter).
“The Copa America refereeing is a story that is only credible to those in Orlando who enjoy the magic of Disney,” wrote Castrilli.
The former international referee, who officiated matches at the 1995 Copa América in Uruguay and the 1998 World Cup in France, regretted the decisions made by Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega in the match between the United States and Uruguay.
Castrilli was also critical of the refereeing of the Chile-Canada match by Colombian Wilmer Roldán, who did not expel a Canadian player for aggression, an error that was confirmed by the VAR.
Spectators in the stands during the group stage
Although most of the controversy focused on the negative aspects of the Copa America group stage, there were also surprises with the number of spectators in the stands that filled the stadiums.
With the last two matches of Group C (United States-Uruguay and Bolivia-Panama) in the group stage, the team managed to surpass one million fans in the stands, thus reaching a historic milestone, according to Conmebol.
Ruben Olavarrieta, commercial manager of the Copa América, revealed the numbers achieved in the first 11 days of the tournament.
“We are very happy because we still have ten games left and reaching the million mark in the group stage is very gratifying. We aim to continue to break our own attendance records,” said Olavarrieta in an interview with the EFE news agency.
Nine matches were sold out, and the match with the largest attendance was the Chile-Argentina match, which was attended by 81,106 spectators, filling MetLife Stadium.
According to Conmebol, the ability of Colombia and Venezuela to fill stadiums during the 2024 Copa América matches has been surprising.
With information from EFE
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2024-07-04 17:45:10