Colombia boss rues Copa security issues at final

Colombia national team head coach Nestor Lorenzo said Hard Rock Stadium’s security breach impacted his players ahead of their 2024 Copa América final defeat to Argentina on Sunday night, labelling the situation “anxiety-inducing.”

Hours before kick off, fans without tickets to the game broke through the southwest gate of the venue, causing many to be tackled and apprehended by police and security personnel. A stadium security guard confirmed to ESPN that the southwest gate had been closed because of a breach, before the entire venue went into lockdown.

“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,” Lorenzo said after the match.

“Imagine the day’s schedule to play a final, everything goes minute-by-minute, breakfast, lunch, the team talk, the departure from the bus, the arrival and then you have to say: ‘No, we have to wait half an hour, no, 45 minutes, no, an hour.’

“Everything became uprooted. I repeat, it happened for both teams. It’s a complaint, but not a cry.”

After fans breached the gates, pre-game warm-ups ended abruptly as players were forced off the pitch and into the locker rooms. The game eventually began 75 minutes behind schedule.

“They warmed up, got cold, warmed up again then a longer half-time,” Lorenzo added.

“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.”

The organising bodies confirmed all gates were open to avoid any serious injuries and the threat of a stampede. Hard Rock Stadium released a statement after the final blaming “unruly fans” for the disruption.

“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,” it said.

“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.”

Argentina defeated Colombia with an extra time goal by Lautaro Martínez in the 112th minute, seeing the Albiceleste become back-to-back Copa América champions.