Americans who follow sports understand a few things. While soccer games in the U.S. are often modest-sized events that are kid-friendly, football in the rest of the world can be a rough and tumble affair both on the pitch and particularly off of it. There is a passion that can escalate to bedlam and mayhem—for instance, British fans who watched England lose to Spain were caught on camera fighting each other, not even supporters of the other team.
This post isn’t about foreign fans’ bad behavior; it’s about the egregious errors that took place before, during and after the Copa America final in Miami. These problems seem to have even overshadowed such cataclysmic events as Lionel Messi’s injury early on in the match and Argentina’s beating Colombia for its third straight cup win 1-0 in a game that went into extra time.
Crowd control was awful and could have been disastrous
Supporters started showing up hours before kickoff in Miami. News reports showed thousands standing outside locked gates in blistering heat because the site was locked down due to fans trying to sneak in (internet footage showed them climbing into the stadium’s HVAC system), climbing over security fences or using counterfeit tickets (likely sold by fraudsters for exorbitant prices). Attendees at the front of the lines were crushed against gates, and some collapsed from heat exhaustion. Security let in some at the front to relieve the pressure and then closed again. With some pushing from the back, fans breached some gates. Even the VIP gate for players’ family, friends and the media were not immune, with some mistreated by security as their children watched.
The chaos delayed the match by an hour, leaving television networks and audiences to witness the carnage. When the gates opened at 8:10 for a revised 9:15 kickoff, the human surge overwhelmed security checkpoints and metal detectors. Stadium staff didn’t check tickets as a sea of people engulfed them. Fortunately, there were no reports of deaths due to the riot-like setting.
There were also problems with the sound and video feeds. The pool feed that goes out globally to all broadcasters went down, forcing Fox Sports and others to use a backup feed that required adjustments on the fly to sync audio and video.
Head of Colombian team arrested
The president of the Colombian Football Federation, Ramón Jesurún Sr., and his son, Ramón Jesurún Jr., were arrested after the Copa America final. They are charged with attacking security guards inside the stadium following Colombia’s loss to Argentina. According to the arrest report, the altercation became physical after a security guard asked the men, who were credentialed but yelling in the guard’s face, to step back. The guard placed a palm on the younger Jesurún’s chest to guide him back, which led the elder Jesurún to step forward and push the guard. His son then followed up by grabbing the guard’s neck, punching him45 and fighting with other security staff. Both father and son face three felony counts of battery on a specified official or employee. The security guard later required hospitalization.
Not the only problem with the tournament
This fiasco is the culmination of a 32-team tournament filled with criticism. Some highlighted the poor quality of the stadium pitches (grass was installed to replace artificial turf in Atlanta), and others said that security for the players was inadequate. Uruguay players climbed into the stands after losing to Colombia in the semi-finals, with Darwin Nunez caught on camera punching a fan wearing Colombia’s colors. Team captain José Giménez later explained that player families seated behind the team bench were in danger.
We need to do better in 2026
While this tournament and its chaotic final were awful, things could have been worse. The 16 cities hosting the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada need to learn from these missteps and do better. It starts with replacing eight of the 16 stadiums’ pitches with natural grass that meets the highest standards. It involves better security and audience experience. It involves high-quality tech that works. It involves keeping everyone safe.