Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP) – 27 people have been arrested, including the president of Colombia’s soccer federation and his son. Crowd control problems Meanwhile, the Copa America final erupted on Sunday Argentina and ColombiaPolice said Monday.
Ramon Jesurun and his son, Ramon Jamil Jesurun, were detained and charged after the show at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami-Dade Police Detective Andre Martin told The Associated Press.
The two face three felony charges against an official after allegedly fighting several stadium security guards. After the match, the two tried to enter the stadium through a tunnel where journalists had gathered, according to arrest records. They were stopped by security, and the police report said they were “angry” because they were late. A verbal altercation eventually turned physical, with guard Ramon Jamil placing an “open palm” on Jesurun’s chest to “direct him back” and the younger Jesurun grabbing the guard “by his neck” and pulling him to the ground “throwing two punches. The victim,” the report said. Both were in custody after midnight. were kept
Colombia’s soccer federation did not immediately respond Monday to AP’s request for comment.
Ramon Jesurun, 71, has been president of the Colombian Football Confederation since 2015 and is vice president of CONMEBOL, the South American soccer governing body that hosts the Copa America tournament.
In a statement released on Monday, the organization said it regretted the sight of countless fans entering the stadium without tickets and “trailing” the event. The The game was delayed for over an hour As officials worked to contain the situation, they eventually decided to let some fans in without going through security checkpoints.
“In this situation, CONMEBOL is subject to the decisions taken by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities in accordance with the contractual obligations established for security measures,” the body said. “In addition to the products stipulated in this agreement, CONMEBOL recommended to these officials procedures proven in cases of this magnitude, which were not taken into account.”
Security at Hard Rock Stadium – the site of the 2026 World Cup matches – is a shared responsibility between its stadium officials, the organization, CONCACAF (the governing body that oversees soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean) and local police.
“More than double the staff” used for a regular event on Sunday, a stadium spokeswoman said in a news release.
Miami-Dade police said more than 800 law enforcement officers were at the event. Apart from those arrested, 55 people were evacuated.
It was a chaotic scene just hours before the scheduled 8pm kick-off A championship match between two South American countries: Fans forced their way in, jumped over guard rails, ran past police officers and stadium ushers, some appearing frantic as they searched for their arrivals.
This seems to have caused a lot of damage to the ground. Video and pictures posted on social media showed escalator side rails, shoes, soda cans, reading glasses and clothing left inside the stadium. Security rails at a checkpoint at the stadium’s southwest entrance buckled, pushing thousands of people, including crying children, against them.
Hard Rock Stadium release: Stadium officials contacted match organizers around 8 p.m. and decided to open the gates to ticketed and non-ticketed fans who were pushed against the entrance for fear of overcrowding and serious injuries. The doors were closed as many ticketed fans were let out.
The stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, home of the NFL’s Dolphins, will be the site of seven World Cup matches in 2026, including the quarterfinals and third-place match.
FIFA organizes the World Cup and is a separate body from CONMEBOL. FIFA is an international confederation that oversees more than 200 affiliated associations under regional bodies such as CONMEBOL.
Ramon Jezurun too Member of the FIFA Council.
FIFA did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment on the crowd control issues and how to prevent such issues in 2026.
Crowd control expert and attorney Steve Adelman, vice president of the Event Protection Coalition, said Hard Rock organizers failed to understand that Sunday’s game would bring fans eager to see their teams, some willing to walk in.
“A match between fans of two rival South American nations is about as emotional as you’re going to get,” he said.
Adelman said organizers should have learned from the 2021 European Championship final at London’s Wembley Stadium, where ticketless England fans barged in for their team’s match with Italy. 19 police officers were injured in the clash and 53 people were arrested. In 1989, 97 people were miserably crushed when fans entered the stadium at a major English match.
“Unfortunately, international soccer matches have been marked by this type of aggressive supporter behavior,” Adelman said. “This behavior is not desirable, it is not good, but it is reasonably expected. … They should plan for the crowd they can be in, not the crowd they want.”
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Associated Press writers Terry Spencer, Astrid Suarez and Gisela Solomon contributed to this report.
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