(Reuters) – Colombia's Football Federation (FCF) has blamed private security at the Copa America final for an incident that led to the arrest of the country's president and his son, but has apologised to organisers after chaos inside the Hard Rock Stadium.
According to a Miami police arrest report, the federation's president, Ramon Jeseln, 71, and his son, Ramon Jamil, 43, were both arrested and charged with assault after an altercation at the stadium just after midnight.
Jeseln and his son were charged after they struggled with security guards in the tunnel. The FCF said they had been trying to get to the awards ceremony after Argentina beat Colombia in Miami but were prevented from doing so by heavy security measures.
“The stadium's private security prevented most members of the Colombian delegation from having timely and direct access to the field, despite them being duly identified with the organization's official badges,” the FCF said in a statement.
The FCF added that tensions escalated when they were not allowed to pass. Police said Jeselun's son grabbed the security guard by the throat, pulled him to the ground, and punched and kicked him in the head.
“Ramon Jesulun's fatherly instincts led him to rush to tell them what had happened, but he was overwhelmed by the situation as he was in the hallway with his wife, son, daughter and minor grandchildren,” the FCF added.
“As the governing body of Colombian football, we regret what happened and offer our apologies to the tournament organizers, the host country and those affected.
“As President Jesulun, I deeply regret these events, which should never have happened and were the result of my fatherly instincts to protect my son and his family.”
Earlier, hundreds of fans were stranded outside Florida's Hard Rock Stadium after a police blockade forced the start of the final to be delayed by more than an hour.
Dozens of fans were arrested and more than 50 were kicked out of the venue after several fans without tickets tried to enter the stadium.
Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 in a match that was postponed due to unrest.
(Reporting by Rohit Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnage)
