Miami-Dade police arrested 27 individuals following a chaotic incident on the Copa America last between Argentina and Colombia on Sunday at Arduous Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, based on an announcement.
The scene turned chaotic simply hours earlier than the 8 p.m. championship match between the 2 South American international locations. Followers compelled their approach in, jumped over safety railings, and ran previous cops and stadium attendants, some showing frantic as they searched for his or her companions.
Among the many most notable arrests was Ramón Jesurún, the 71-year-old president of Colombian soccer. Police additionally arrested his son; each males are accused of attacking a number of safety guards at Arduous Rock Stadium.
Ramón Jesurún has been president of the Colombian soccer federation since 2015 and is a vice chairman of CONMEBOL, South America’s governing soccer physique that organizes the Copa America event.
Chaos ‘tarnished’ the occasion
In an announcement launched Monday, CONMEBOL stated it regrets the scene by which numerous followers entered the stadium with out tickets and “tarnished” the occasion. The sport was delayed for greater than an hour, and consequently, authorities determined to let followers in with out going by means of safety checkpoints.
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“On this state of affairs, CONMEBOL was topic to the selections made by the Arduous Rock Stadium authorities, based on the contractual obligations established for safety operations,” the group stated. “Along with the preparations decided on this contract, CONMEBOL really useful to those authorities the procedures confirmed in occasions of this magnitude, which have been NOT taken under consideration.”
Miami-Dade police stated over 800 regulation enforcement officers have been on the match. Along with the arrests, 55 individuals have been ejected, they stated.
Arduous Rock Stadium released a statement on Sunday, saying:
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“We’re grateful to the regulation enforcement officers who managed a tough state of affairs and prioritized the protection of the venue, the gamers, their households and the followers. We are going to proceed to work with regulation enforcement to establish and maintain criminals accountable who engaged in unlawful conduct tonight. It’s disappointing {that a} evening of celebration was impacted by illegal and unsafe habits, and we are going to totally assessment the processes and protocols in place tonight and work with regulation enforcement to make sure such an occasion by no means occurs once more.”
The stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, which is house to the NFL’s Dolphins, would be the web site of seven World Cup matches in 2026, together with a quarterfinal and third-place match.
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Related Press contributed reporting.
