Colombia's soccer federation president and his son were among 27 people arrested during the crowd control issues that broke out at the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia, which defending champions Argentina won 1-0 in extra time, police say.
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Ramon Jesurun and his son Ramon Jamil Jesurun were detained on Sunday after the event at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida and charged, Miami-Dade police detective Andre Martin told The Associated Press.
Both men are facing three counts of felony battery on an official after being accused of fighting multiple stadium security guards.
Arrest records said both men tried to go onto the field through a tunnel where media was gathering after the match. They were stopped and the police report said they "became irate" at the delay. A verbal altercation eventually turned physical with a security guard placing an "open palm" on Ramon Jamil Jesurun's chest to "guide him back" and the younger Jesurun grabbing the guard "around his neck" and pulling him to the ground before throwing "two punches that impacted" the guard, the report said.
Ramon Jesurun, 71, has been president of the Colombian soccer federation since 2015 and is a vice president of CONMEBOL, South American soccer's governing body that organises the Copa America tournament.
In a statement released on Monday, the organisation said it regrets the scene in which countless fans entered the stadium without tickets and "tarnished" the event. The game was delayed for more than an hour as authorities worked to control the situation, eventually deciding to let some fans in without going through security checkpoints.
"In this situation, CONMEBOL was subject to the decisions made by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities, according to the contractual responsibilities established for security operations," the organisation said.
"In addition to the preparations determined in this contract, CONMEBOL recommended to these authorities the procedures proven in events of this magnitude, which were NOT taken into account."
Hard Rock Stadium -- the site of seven 2026 World Cup matches -- said security was a shared responsibility between its stadium officials, the organisation, CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean soccer's governing body) and local police.
Miami-Dade police said more than double (800) law enforcement officers were at the match and in addition to the arrests, 55 people were ejected.
It was a chaotic scene hours before the scheduled 8pm start of the championship match. Fans forced their way in and jumped over security railings and ran past police officers and stadium attendants.
The Hard Rock Stadium release said stadium officials communicated with tournament organisers and decided to open the gates to fans who were thrust against the entrance in fear of stampedes and serious injuries. The gates were then closed with many ticketed fans left outside.
Attorney Steve Adelman, a crowd control expert, said Hard Rock organisers failed to understand that Sunday's game would bring out passionate fans desperate to see their teams, some willing to force their way inside.
"A match between fans of two rival South American nations is about as passionate as you're going to get," he said.
"This behaviour is not desirable, it's not good, but it is reasonably foreseeable ... They needed to plan for the crowd they were likely to have, not the crowd they wished they had."
Adelman said organisers should have learned from the 2021 Euro Championship final at London's Wembley Stadium, where ticketless England fans forced their way inside for their team's match with Italy. The melee injured 19 police officers and resulted in 53 arrests.
Australian Associated Press
