The black gates at Hard Rock Stadium’s southwest entrance were closed for an hour and 45 minutes as a young child was carried on the shoulders of a guardian among the crowd waiting to watch the America’s Cup final.
The boy waved to the police and security guards standing by the single door, which was opening to let people into the stadium. He clasped his hands together as if in prayer, imploring them to let him in.
“Please,” he said. “please.”
As a security guard reached out and pulled the boy and his guardian toward the open door, the boy breathed a sigh of relief, began to cry, and then turned around, Messi’s No. 10 clearly visible on the back of his sky blue and white Argentina jersey.
Similar scenes played out for more than two hours, with fans packed inside the closed gates of Miami Gardens Stadium, a near-disaster that overshadowed what would eventually be a title clash between South American powerhouses Argentina and Colombia. .
Supporters flock to Hard Rock Stadium ahead of Sunday’s Copa America final (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Fans are asked to arrive early and watch parties are prohibited outside the stadium or in the parking lot. Hard Rock also said “fans must have game tickets” to enter the stadium on Sunday.
It was busy outside from 3pm, with the gates opening at 5pm and crowds starting to gather around 6pm, about two hours before the scheduled kick-off time. Several fans were arrested for jumping the fence and trying to enter the game without a ticket. The decision to close the gates around the stadium — in response to what Miami-Dade police called “unruly behavior” — will prove key to what happens next.
— Miami-Dade Police Department (@MiamiDadePD) July 14, 2024
In the scorching sun, fans pushed towards the closed doors, causing crowding. There are few visible barriers to disperse people trying to enter; an attempt to ease the flow of traffic. Fans surged forward as the gates opened slightly and security closed them again, with several people trapped outside saying they had no idea what was going on.
This pattern continues again and again, with fans being drawn in bit by bit, almost one by one. Sometimes children would walk by with their guardians, their faces red, covered in sweat, and many in tears. Other fans, who were clearly suffering from heat-related issues, were helped to their feet by their friends. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue set up a medical station inside the gates to treat a steady stream of people suffering from heat issues. The video shows fans holding up their tickets to the camera, saying they paid $2,000 for seats but were denied entry.
A spokesman for Hard Rock Stadium said: “Throughout the afternoon and evening, unruly fans without tickets repeatedly attempted to subdue security and law enforcement officers at the stadium entrance, putting themselves, other fans, and security and stadium staff at great risk. danger.
“Gates to various stadiums were strategically closed and reopened in an attempt to allow safe and controlled entry for ticketed guests. Fans continued to engage in illegal behavior – clashing with police, tearing down walls and barricades, vandalizing stadiums, and trespassing on property causing heavy losses.
Fans gather outside the southeast gate of Hard Rock Stadium (Laura Williamson/Competitor)
A woman later identified herself Competitor Playing Diana, she was led into the stadium unconscious by a police officer. She was laid on a concrete area set up by medical staff and eventually woken up and given water. Steven, a 34-year-old Colombian who lives with Diana in Miami, described the situation.
“Everyone starts pushing and you feel like you’re losing air,” he said. “Once we got closer to the gate, you can only imagine. I noticed Diana was struggling. Luckily, I was standing right behind her.
Diana, 28, said she remembers the moment she fainted.
“I tried to breathe,” she said. “One person kept telling me, ‘Try to breathe. Try to breathe,’ and I replied that I hoped they would open another door. They used one door for all these people, but the people refused. I grabbed a man standing near me. Everyone is pushing. Colombians, Argentines. Everyone is pushing.
Even the players’ friends and family were caught up in the melee, as the southwest gate served as the entrance for media and VIP ticket holders. Shortly after the gates closed, the family of Colombia defender Daniel Munoz, who was sitting at the entrance, was pushed toward the entrance and eventually pulled inside.
“We were waiting in line as a family, and then these reckless people behind me started pushing me,” said Manuela Ángel, Muñoz’s wife, who was bleeding from a cut on her wrist. “They thought I was causing chaos, so I was pushed towards the police, away from the cordon. They started shouting at my children. My oldest is six years old and my youngest is less than two. I am with Daniel’s grandmother, mother, aunt and other family members were together and I suffered the most because I had a ticket in front of them all.
“A police officer helped me because she saw me crying. I told her I was Daniel’s wife and I was worried about the children’s health. Going into other stadiums (during games) was okay, but tonight was bad. Too bad .
The family of Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has also been affected. “Alexis had to come out and let us in,” his mother Silvina said on Argentinian television. “He was worried about us. It was inhumane. He gave us a hug. We told him to stay calm and be ready to play.
A fan is detained by police at Hard Rock Stadium (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images)
A member of the media working for the event’s rights holder was thrown to the ground and arrested after passing through a gate where members of the media were being held.
Players from Argentina and Colombia went out to warm up in front of sparse crowds just after 7 p.m., but halted training at 7:30 p.m. when it became clear the game would not start on time.
“When we were warming up in the locker room, they told us there was a half-hour delay,” Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo said. “More, right? We’re trying to talk to family and friends and see if they’re OK. It’s a little weird and confusing. We’re trying to stay calm, but there’s still a level of anxiety.
Two fans wearing Honduran gear waited in the crowd for two hours before entering at about 8 p.m. Both were sweating profusely and looking depressed. They said police threatened them with tear gas and Tasers.
“What’s happening now is they want to control the people in front, not the people in front. They push from behind,” Alejandro Flores told Competitor. “You have to drive out the people in front and control the people behind. Pull them back so that the people can be in order.
“Their job is to protect and serve. People fainting in front of them, it doesn’t matter. They don’t even want to give us water. Not even water, man. Not even water.”
Flores’ frustration boiled over again as he looked back at the people still huddled on the fence behind him.
“Conmebol is a disaster,” he said of tournament organizers CONMEBOL. “In North Carolina (Uruguay-Colombia semifinal) it was a test. They should be ready, but the same thing is happening. North Carolina was a disaster. Now it is going the same way, even worse.
“Conmebol should not bring this tournament to the United States… look around because they are not ready for the World Cup.”
Fans wait to be allowed into the stadium (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The stadium will host seven matches from the 2026 Men’s World Cup, four of which will be the group stage, a last-32 match, a quarter-final and the third-place final. The tournament is organized by world football’s governing body International Football Association (FIFA), rather than South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).
Another fan, who wished to remain anonymous, stood near the entrance escalator with his hands on his hips, watching the scene he had just appeared in play out.
“People were coming in droves. The pressure was getting on and people were almost fainting,” he said. “There were kids vomiting, there were a lot of people there, and you couldn’t move. In other words, you had no control over your body; you just went wherever they pushed you. On top of that, there was no one to organize or help do anything matter.
As he spoke, police backed away from the gate and stood aside. At around 8:15 p.m., a quarter of an hour after the game was scheduled to start, the southwest gates burst open and fans poured in. Tickets were not checked and no one was searched or passed through metal detectors.
A spokesman for Hard Rock Stadium said: “Shortly after 8 p.m., stadium officials, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and law enforcement officials decided to open the stadium gates to all fans at short notice to prevent stampedes around the area. and serious injuries. Once the threat of fans being run over was alleviated, the gates were not reopened as the venue was at capacity.
Footage from the stadium appeared to show fans still sneaking into the stadium after the initial influx of supporters entered. Another video showed fans climbing makeshift ladders to climb over the fence.
Thousands of people were still outside when the game finally got underway at 9:22pm, 82 minutes after its scheduled start time. Some people watched from the aisles of the stadium until police searched the crowd for tickets and asked those without tickets to leave. Others retreated to the stadium concourse in search of food and water – alcohol sales were suspended shortly after kickoff.
Those denials continued into the second half of the game, after 11 p.m., and Argentina did not seal the victory until midnight after extra time.
Supporters ended up watching Argentina’s 1-0 win over Colombia but those who entered without tickets were removed (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Chief Public Safety Officer James Reyes issued a statement saying that the Miami-Dade Police Department provided more than 550 personnel for the game. police officers who were “furious at the unprecedented events that took place tonight at the America’s Cup final”.
“The Copa America final is organized by CONMEBOL, with security support provided by the Miami-Dade Police Department along with other law enforcement agencies,” the statement read.
“Let us be clear: this should not have happened and cannot happen again. We will work with the stadium leadership to ensure that tonight’s event is immediately reviewed comprehensively to assess the entire event chain in order to plan for all future games.” Required protocols and policies.
Hard Rock Stadium pledged to work with CONMEBOL to resolve “individual issues with ticket holders unable to attend.”
“We are grateful to law enforcement officers for handling a difficult situation and prioritizing the safety of the venue, players, their families and fans,” the spokesperson added. “We will continue to work with law enforcement to identify the criminals who engaged in illegal conduct tonight. elements and hold them accountable.
“It is disappointing that a night of celebrations was marred by illegal and unsafe behavior and we will be fully reviewing our processes and protocols tonight and working with law enforcement to ensure this does not happen again.”
Journalists were also in trouble: Veronica Brunati, one of Argentina’s most respected football journalists, tweeted at 10:37 p.m. that she could not enter the stadium.
“This is a nightmare,” she wrote. “It’s crazy. There are thousands of people outside our gates.
“But I’m alive, thank God.”
(Top: Maddie Meyer, Megan Briggs/Getty Images; Design: Dan Goldfarb)
