There were ugly scenes ahead of Sunday’s Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia, with crowd trouble outside of the Hard Rock Stadium. Riots broke out around the venue after scores of ticketless fans attempted to force their way inside.
According to multiple reports and video posted to social media, unruly fans that did not have tickets to Sunday’s final rushed the turnstiles and scaled the fences surrounding Hard Rock Stadium. Many succesfully made their way past police and members of security, as footage captured them sprinting through the concourse and towards the seats.
In other clips, police can be seen chasing after fans and detaining those who appear to not have tickets to the match. At least one Colombian supporter seemed to suffer an injury upon being captured by security, as the individual was spotted with blood dripping down his entire face while being escorted in handcuffs.
In an attempt to restore order, officials shut down several of the gates into the stadium, with journalists reporting that the southwest gate of the stadium was closed off completely. This proved to be a massive headache for many fans in line – several of whom were reportedly family members of players – that had tickets to the match but were forced to wait outside the stadium in the scorching Florida heat.
Less than an hour before kick-off, many of the seats surrounding the pitch remained empty, in large part due to the backlog of supporters that were waiting to enter the gates. Just 30 minutes before the match was set to begin, all gates leading into the stadium were closed off, per Yahoo Sports.
According to another journalist at the scene, officers at one point were letting fans into the stadium one by one, so as to not be overwhelmed by a mad dash from a large group. This method appeared to be quickly trashed, however, due to the extensive amount of time it was taking.
In an official statement posted to X, CONMEBOL – the governing body of South American football – announced that the start of the final would be delayed 30 minutes. “We inform that people who do not have tickets will not be able to enter the stadium,” a translation of the post read. “Only those who have purchased tickets will be able to enter once access is enabled again. We inform that the match will be delayed 30 minutes, starting at 8:30 p.m. local time.”
Miami-Dade Police also released its own statement deterring fans from attempting to forcibly enter the stadium, writing: “We have had several incidents prior to the gates opening at Hard Rock Stadium for the Copa America final game. These incidents have been a result of the unruly behaviour of fans trying to access the stadium.
“We are asking everyone to be patient and abide by the rules set by our officers and Hard Rock Stadium personnel. We are actively working with Hard Rock Stadium to ensure a safe environment for all those attending. Unruly behaviour will get you ejected and/or arrested. We have a ZERO TOLERANCE behaviour against unruly conduct from everyone attending.”