The Copa America final ended on Sunday night with Argentina beating Colombia 1-0 to win their 16th title, but it was the Miami-Dade Police Department that scored the goals.
By the end of the night at the Hard Rock Stadium, a staggering 27 people had been arrested and 55 ejected.
“Last night, our law enforcement teams responded swiftly to address an extremely difficult and dangerous situation that threatened the life safety of those in attendance,” Public Safety Director James Reyes said in a statement.
“We’d like to thank all of the officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Fire and Rescue Division and the Miami-Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as well as our partner agencies, who worked together to keep our fans and community safe and prevent a major incident.”
Among those causing chaos were Colombian Football Federation president Ramon Jesulun and his son Ramon Hamil Jesulun, who were allegedly involved in physical clashes with security guards.
There were delays of more than 75 minutes as fans tried to force their way through the stadium gates, some even crawling through air vents and jumping over security barriers in their desperate attempt to get in.
800 police officers from various agencies arrived to try to put an end to the carnage, but the stadium remained in ruins.
Fans too He threw a big bag of popcorn at me. After the match, it flew into the air, adding to the chaos throughout the stadium.
“We are outraged by the unprecedented events and tonight’s Copa America final,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniela Levin Cava said in a statement. “Let me be clear: this situation should never have happened and should never happen again. We are working with stadium leadership to ensure a full investigation of tonight’s events is conducted immediately and we will evaluate the entire series of events and put in place the necessary protocols and policies for all future matches.”
The incidents have raised concerns among fans with the United States scheduled to host the World Cup in 2026.
1 X user I have written“What a terrible idea for this country to host the World Cup in 2026.”
another Added“The 2026 World Cup cannot be held in the United States. It would be a global embarrassment.”
Reyes also spoke about the future of soccer in the United States, claiming that change is coming.
“We are working with tournament organizers to conduct a comprehensive review of all safety and security protocols as we continue preparations for the 2026 World Cup,” he said.
