Crowd trouble at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami caused the final of the 2024 Copa America between Argentina and Colombia to be delayed by more than an hour. Images and videos from the stadium on various platforms show a crowd crush outside a gate of a stadium and a stampede-like situation once it was open, police arresting fans who made their way into the stadium without tickets and ticketless fans trying to get into the stands through the venue's ventilation system.
Videos and images on social media showed fans, mostly wearing Colombia's yellow and red colors, jumping over security railings near the Southwest entrance of the stadium and running past police officers and stadium attendants. Screams could be heard in the background.
Organiser CONMEBOL was forced to announce that ticketless fans won't be allowed inside the stadium. “We would like to inform you that individuals without tickets will not be allowed entry into the stadium. Only those with purchased tickets will be permitted entry once access is reopened. We also inform you that the match will be delayed by 30 minutes, starting at 8:30 PM,” it said in the statement. The match would go on to be delayed by a further 45 minutes.
Ticketless fans at the centre of chaos
A handful of people could be seen receiving medical treatment and asking for water in the sweltering South Florida heat. Officers were able to push the crowd behind black gates and lock down the entrance so that no one could get inside, although plenty of fans with tickets had already made it to their seats before then.
{{/usCountry}}A handful of people could be seen receiving medical treatment and asking for water in the sweltering South Florida heat. Officers were able to push the crowd behind black gates and lock down the entrance so that no one could get inside, although plenty of fans with tickets had already made it to their seats before then.
{{/usCountry}}One young fan wearing an Argentina jersey was let inside the gate crying hysterically as the man who was with him and a police officer tried to comfort him. Officials appeared to open gates slightly to allow only a handful a fans in at a time, while other angry attendees pushed against the railings.
Security began letting fans reenter slowly around 8.10pm local time, with the new kickoff time set for 9.15pm, but the commotion did not stop. Fans continued to break through the railings. They filed inside and started running in multiple directions. Tickets did not appear to be scanned. Some fans started climbing over fences to get in.