The Copa América last between Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Colombia on Sunday night, when the stadium’s crowd control and intruding problems escalated, was held by CONMEBOL, which was blamed on Hard Rock Stadium.
The match’s begin was delayed by an 82-minute delay due to conflict at the doors. Organizers and protection made an effort to allow access to those who had tickets while preventing those without them from entering. Finally, they gave up and let everyone in, to reduce the possibility of harm.
” In this scenario, CONMEBOL was subject to choices made by the Hard Rock Stadium government, according to the legal responsibilities established for safety operations”, South America’s sports governing body said in a speech. Responding advised these authorities of the methods used in events of this scale, which were NOT taken into account, in addition to the preparations specified in this commitment.

The event was organized in cooperation with CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, and local law enforcement, according to a statement released earlier on Monday. Hard Rock Stadium reiterated its continued commitment to working closely with law enforcement to stop such instances in the future in the speech, despite regretting the results. CONCACAF, the co-organizer of the event, did not respond to Sportico’s request for comment at the time of the release of this tale.
Viewers and journalists ‘ accounts, however, suggested that better planning and management could have prevented the problems.
Lucas Regolo and Agustina Comelli, both Argentines, have played in about 40 Argentina games, including all of their participation in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, from their party matches in 2011 Copa America and their party games in 2012. As devoted football fans, they thought it would be special for their 9-year-old twins to watch the Copa América last on Sunday night as a home.
” I have never thought I’d encounter something like last day”, Regolo said in a telephone meeting. ” It was perfect chaos”.
The home and a companion traveled from Buenos Aires to Miami Gardens, Florida to enjoy the ultimate after Argentina defeated Canada to reach the final. They paid$ 1, 200 per passport, purchased on the intermediate market—more than what they paid for tickets to the World Cup final in Qatar.
” We felt it was for seeing Messi sing one more time with our children”, Regolo said.
They parked their rental car at Hard Rock around 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, drove around the facility, and the wall was closed. We were informed that people trying to enter the walls with false or no reservations had caused the gates to be shut down. No one could show us when they would reopen”, he said.
By that point, thousands of non-ticketed fans had rushed through the gates, causing a panic as a result. Security personnel shut down all entrances as a result, leaving thousands of fans without tickets stranded inside.

The position became increasingly severe outside the gates with pushing and shoving in the 100+ education Miami temperature.
Regolo believed that the officer’s protests had preferably exacerbated the chaos. Ultimately, the couple moved away from the doors to defend their children. They walked around the venue until about 8 p.m. ET, the final’s opening moment, when they spotted a group of people entering through a wall. ” We ended up getting in without showing our cards”, he admitted. ” It was true luck”.
Veronica Brunati, a editor for Fox Argentina, did not share Regolo and Comelli’s success. She witnessed followers walking directly from the event to the stadium as she completed her pregame reporting assignment from inside Hard Rock Stadium. ” I noticed there were no safety perimeters]between the fan event and the venue gates ]”, she said. ” People was walk up to the gates, seat or not. And they did”.
When Brunati’s project was finished, she had a solution to attend the game as a lover. But she was one of the many people who could n’t make it inside the stadium. ” Many people outside the gates were injured, crying, desperate”, she said.
Martin Fradkin, a supplier with ESPN’s content development device who attended the game as a lover, pointed to serious organizational problems. ” In my opinion, there was a complete lack of communication among the organizers”, he said. ” It’s not just CONMEBOL but also CONCACAF]and ] the stadium staff. Accountability remains unclear”.
After waiting outside, Fradkin eventually entered along with hundreds of others. ” No one even checked my ticket”, he noted. He was seated in his seat.
Bianca Soifer, a freelance journalist from Buenos Aires, was authorized to attend the game as a media person. The reporter entered the stadium just before kickoff by entering the media entrance after finding herself trapped outside the gates with ticketed guests and other members of the media.
On a phone call, Soifer said,” People always criticize Latin America for being ill-prepared for big events.” ” But we]in Argentina ] take security measures so much more seriously, protect people, even for smaller matches”, she said.
Fradkin claimed that the organizers underestimated the attendance and the willingness of the unticketed fans to watch the game in person. The final’s tickets cost as much as the World Cup’s final. They might have anticipated it to be similar to the Super Bowl, he said, but soccer draws a different kind of crowd.
Fradkin, who has worked at hundreds of soccer matches, emphasized the importance of security perimeters for high-demand sporting events. ” Stories can result from allowing people without tickets to enter the gates.” Security needs to control access well before the stadium”, he said.
In 2026, Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium will host seven World Cup games.
” In my 20 years covering the Argentine national team across 40 countries, I’ve never witnessed anything like yesterday”, Brunati said. ” It’s a miracle no one lost their life”.