Copa America final: 'The party almost turned into a tragedy' – chaos

The 2024 Copa America was meant to showcase the soccer passion of the people of the Americas.

But as Argentine newspaper Ole reported, “the party nearly turned into a tragedy.”

The tournament, hosted by the United States and played in some of the biggest and best stadiums in world sport, was plagued by problems.

A poor-condition pitch, a half-empty stadium and crowd troubles all contributed to a chaotic end to Sunday's fixtures.

Several people were arrested after clashes with police and security forces, and several supporters required medical treatment from paramedics.

It's far from the fair organizers had hoped for and is raising concerns ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which is due to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

So what went wrong, and what can we learn from what Argentine media outlet Todo Noticias described as a “global fiasco”?

Problems were evident during the opening match between Argentina and Canada, with Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni and players from both teams complaining about the condition of the pitch in Atlanta.

Eleven of the 14 venues were NFL stadiums, six of which had grass pitches installed over artificial turf — in some cases, the grass had only been laid down a few days before.

The tournament is organised by South American football's governing body CONMEBOL, which said pre- and post-match tests had found the pitch to be in good condition.

But Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa told a press conference they were a “pack of liars”, the training ground they were provided with was “terrible” and Scaloni and his players had been “threatened” not to speak up.

Brazil's Real Madrid striker Vinicius Junior criticised the standard of both the pitch and the refereeing, while the Chilean Football Federation (FFC) called for punishment of referee Wilmer Roldan for “terrible behaviour” in the final group game.

After losing in the semi-finals, Uruguay players ran into the stands to protect their families, leading to clashes with Colombian fans.

The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) said insufficient safety measures were in place at the match in Charlotte and that Colombian and Uruguayan fans were not separated.

Most of the knockout matches were sold out, but across the tournament, 50 percent of the 32 matches had attendances significantly below capacity.

Part of the reason is ticket prices – the average price is estimated to be around $200 (£155), but tickets for certain matches can cost much more on US resale sites, and prices fluctuate.

Before Sunday's final, Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo had already complained about Colombian pop star Shakira performing the halftime show, which led to a planned 25-minute intermission in the match instead of 15.

CONMEBOL also issued a statement saying that only ticket holders would be allowed on the stadium grounds before kick-off at 8pm local time.

But as the match approached, a stadium spokesman said thousands of ticketless fans had “attempted to force entry” into the 65,000-capacity stadium.

Footage shows fans breaking through the stadium gates, climbing over perimeter walls and fences and even through ventilation ducts.

The stadium said in a statement that the gates were then “strategically closed and reopened”, allowing some fans to “continue their illegal behaviour, including fighting with police officers, destroying walls and barricades and vandalising the stadium, causing significant damage to the facilities”.

The stadium was packed with people waiting outside in 31-degree heat, leading to a joint decision to allow fans in without having their tickets scanned for a short period of time “to prevent stampedes and serious injuries around the stadium”.

“Once there was no longer any risk of fans being crushed, the gates were closed,” the statement added. “The venue was full at the time and the gates were not reopened.”

The players' families were also caught up in the chaos, with Argentina coach Scaloni saying after the match: “We had to start the game without knowing where our families were. It was very strange.”

The game ended up starting more than an hour late, and because of extra time and the halftime show, the match didn't finish until 12:09 a.m. local time.

Eight of the Copa America venues will also be used at the 2026 World Cup, including Hard Rock Stadium, which will host seven matches, including the quarterfinals and third-place play-off.

In a statement, the stadium said it was working with law enforcement to identify those responsible for Sunday's unrest and would review its current procedures “to ensure such an incident never happens again.”

He added that the number of police and security personnel at the venue was more than double that of a normal sold-out event.

“We understand that some ticket holders will be disappointed that they were unable to enter the stadium after borders were closed and we will work with CONMEBOL to address their individual concerns,” the statement read.

“At the end of the day, nothing is more important than the health and safety of all our guests and staff, which will always remain our top priority.”

While the Copa America is the responsibility of CONMEBOL, the World Cup is organised by the International Football Association (FIFA), and the North American-based Independent Supporters' Council (ISC) said it was “confident” the 2026 tournament would welcome fans “safely and appropriately”.

The statement added: “The Copa America will highlight serious issues that can arise and cause people to be unsure about traveling to North America, but we believe that the host cities and planning committees are aware of those issues and have already anticipated and planned accordingly.”

CONMEBOL and FIFA have been contacted for comment.