Colombia boss Nestor Lorenzo felt his side were affected more than Argentina by the chaotic scenes outside the Hard Rock Stadium that delayed the Copa America final by 75 minutes last night.
Fans without tickets tried to force their way into the Miami venue, leading to some gates being closed before a staged reopening eventually saw the game get underway after the initial warm-ups were abandoned.
Lorenzo, whose side lost 1-0 to a Lautaro Martinez goal in extra-time, felt Argentina’s greater experience gave the world champions a crucial edge.
He said: “Imagine, from the locker room we were trying to communicate with family members, with friends, to see if they were in trouble or not, it was overwhelming. So that was chaotic. We tried to keep the team calm, but there was anxiety.
“They warmed up, got cold, warmed up again then a longer half-time.
“Weird things, for both sides but the team with less experience feels it more. There is no need to make a complaint or anything, but I said that this could have an impact on the physique and generally the tension is felt more by the person who has less experience in these types of events.”
— CONMEBOL Copa América™️ ENG (@copaamerica_ENG) July 15, 2024
Last night’s game brought an end to a Copa riddled with issues relating to ticketing, crowd trouble and poor playing surfaces.
It does not bode well for the World Cup when it is staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico in two years’ time.
What did the match organisers have to say?
Despite the disruption, officials at the Hard Rock Stadium insisted they had played it by the book and blamed the problems on supporters.
A statement read: “Preparations [for the final] included an increase in the number of law enforcement officers and security on-hand, with more than double the personnel than a typical at-capacity stadium event.
“Throughout the afternoon and evening, there were numerous attempts by unruly fans without tickets to overpower security and law enforcement personnel at entry points to the stadium, putting themselves, other fans and security and stadium staff at extreme risk.
“Various stadium gates were closed and re-opened strategically in an attempt to allow ticketed guests to enter safely and in a controlled manner. Fans continued to engage in illegal conduct — fighting police officers, breaking down walls and barricades and vandalizing the stadium, causing significant damage to the property.
“When it became apparent that it would not be safe to start the match at 8 p.m., a joint decision was made to postpone. Shortly after 8 p.m., stadium officials, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and law enforcement officers communicated and decided to open stadium gates for a short period of time to all fans to prevent stampedes and serious injury at the perimeter.
“We will continue to work with law enforcement to identify and hold criminals accountable who engaged in illegal conduct tonight. It is disappointing that a night of celebration was impacted by unlawful and unsafe behavior, and we will fully review the processes and protocols in place tonight and work with law enforcement to ensure such an event never happens again.”
