Officials struggle to contain fans after the gates were breached at the Copa América final in Miami. (0:55)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The start time for the final of the 2024 Copa América between Argentina and Colombia has been delayed 30 minutes until 8:30 p.m. ET following a security breach in which fans broke through one of the main entry gates.
Video on social media showed fans breaking through the southwest gate at Hard Rock Stadium, with some being tackled or otherwise apprehended by police and security personnel. A security guard manning an interior entrance to the stadium confirmed to ESPN that the southwest gate at the venue had been locked down due to a breach.
Shortly after that, an officer for the Miami-Dade Police Department told ESPN that all gates were locked down, while another officer said it kept changing, describing the situation as “very fluid.”
The Miami-Dade Police issued the following statement: “We have had several incidents prior to the gates opening at Hard Rock Stadium for the COPA America final game. These incidents have been a result of the unruly behavior of fans trying to access the stadium.
“We are asking everyone to be patient, and abide by the rules set by our officers and Hard Rock Stadium personnel.”
Video and images taken by ESPN showed fans crowding around the southwest gate waiting to be let in. Fans have been congregating at Hard Rock Stadium since well before the planned kickoff at 8 p.m. ET, with one parking lot attendant saying he had been called to work early given that fans started to arrive as early as 6 a.m.
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 had already made it to their seats before then.
A sellout crowd of more than 65,000 was expected for the championship match of the South American tournament, with Argentina looking to defend its title.
It isn’t clear which of the fans who gained entrance during the rush had tickets to the match. CONMEBOL, South America’s governing body, released a statement a day before warning that fans must have tickets to enter the venue.
The Copa América has been plagued by organizational and planning issues almost from the moment the tournament started, with teams complaining about field conditions, field sizes, the state of training fields, as well as crowd control issues.
At the conclusion of last Wednesday’s semifinal when Colombia beat Uruguay, Uruguayan players Darwin Núñez and Ronald Araújo went into the stands at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., when they felt that family members were in danger from opposition fans.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.