'It was inhuman': Why the Copa America final was delayed and dangerously close to disaster

The black gates at the southwest entrance of Hard Rock Stadium had been closed for one hour and 45 minutes when a young child was hoisted on a guardian’s shoulders amid the crush of people waiting to get in for the Copa América final.

The boy waved his hands toward the police officers and security guards standing next to the lone door that was opening to let people into the stadium. He put his hands together as if in prayer, pleading with them to let him in.

“Please,” he said. “Please.”

As a security guard reached out and pulled the boy and his guardian toward the open gate, the boy started to cry in relief, then got spun around, the Messi No. 10 visible on the back of his sky blue and white Argentina jersey.

Similar scenes played out for more than two hours as fans pressed against the closed gates at the stadium in Miami Gardens, a near-disaster that overshadowed the spectacle of the game that was eventually played between Argentina and Colombia, two South American powers fighting for a major international trophy.

Fans had been asked to arrive early, with watch parties banned outside the stadium or in the parking lots. Hard Rock also said “fans MUST have a game ticket” to enter the stadium campus on Sunday.

It was busy outside from 3 p.m., the gates opened at 5 p.m. and the crowd outside started to build around 6 p.m., about two hours from the scheduled kick-off. Several fans were arrested for hopping fences and trying to get into the game without tickets. The decision to shut the gates around the stadium — a response to what Miami-Dade Police called “unruly behavior” — would prove key to what followed.

With the sun beating down, fans pushed toward the closed gates, causing a crush. There were few visible barriers to disperse the people trying to get in; to try to ease the flow. When the gates opened slightly, the fans swelled forward and security closed the gates again, with several people stuck outside saying they had no idea what was going on.

This pattern continued again and again, with fans being let in at a trickle, almost one by one. At times, kids would come through with their guardians, their faces beet red, soaked in sweat and many in tears. Other fans clearly suffering from heat-related issues were held upright by their friends. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue set up a medical station just inside the gates, where they treated a steady stream of people suffering from heat-related issues. Video showed fans holding their tickets up to cameras saying they paid $2,000 for seats, only to be denied entry.

A Hard Rock Stadium spokesperson said: “Throughout the afternoon and evening, there were numerous attempts by unruly fans without tickets to overpower security and law enforcement personnel at entry points to the stadium, putting themselves, other fans and security and stadium staff at extreme risk.

“Various stadium gates were closed and re-opened strategically in an attempt to allow ticketed guests to enter safely and in a controlled manner. Fans continued to engage in illegal conduct — fighting police officers, breaking down walls and barricades and vandalizing the stadium, causing significant damage to the property.”

Fans amassed outside Hard Rock Stadium’s south-eastern gate (Laura Williamson/The Athletic)

One woman, who identified herself later to The Athletic as Diana, was carried unconscious into the stadium by a police officer. She was laid down on the concrete in the area set up with medics and eventually woke up and was given water. Steven, a 34-year-old Colombian who lives in Miami and was with Diana, described the situation.

“Everyone started to push and you could feel yourself losing air,” he said. “And once we got closer to the gates, you can only imagine. I noticed that Diana was struggling. Fortunately, I was standing behind her.”

Diana, 28, said she remembered the moment she fainted.

“I tried to breathe,” she said. “A man kept telling me, ‘Try to breathe. Try to breathe’ and I responded that I wanted them to open another gate. They were using one gate for all of these people but people pushed back. I held on to a man that was standing near me. Everyone was pushing. Colombians, Argentines. Everyone was pushing.”

Even friends and family members of players were caught in the melee, as the southwest gate was an entry point for media and VIP ticket holders. The family of Colombia fullback Daniel Muñoz sat together just inside the entrance shortly after the gates were closed, having been pushed toward the entrance and eventually pulled inside.

“We were standing in line as a family waiting to get in and then the reckless people behind me started to push me,” said Manuela Ángel, Muñoz’s wife, who was bleeding from a cut on her wrist. “They thought I was causing chaos, so I was pushed towards the police officers, away from the line. They started yelling at my children. My oldest is six years old and my youngest isn’t even two yet. I’m here with Daniel’s grandmother, his mother, his aunt and other family members. I suffered the most because I was in front of all of them. I had the tickets.

“One police officer helped me because she saw me crying. I told her I was Daniel’s wife and that I was concerned for my children’s well-being. Entering other stadiums (during the tournament) has been fine but tonight was terrible. Just terrible.”

Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister’s family was also caught up. “Alexis had to come out to get us in,” his mother, Silvina, said on Argentinian television. “He was worried about us. It was inhuman. He gave us a hug. We told him to stay calm and get ready to play.”

A fan is detained by police at Hard Rock Stadium (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images)

One media member, who works for a rights-holder for the tournament, was slammed to the ground and arrested after getting through a gate where media members had been held.

Argentina and Colombia players went out to warm up in front of a sparse crowd at just after 7 p.m., only to abort their routines by 7.30 p.m. when it became obvious the match could not start on time.

“When we were warming up and in the locker rooms, they told us there was a half-hour delay,” said Colombia head coach Nestor Lorenzo. “It was more, right? We were trying to talk to our family members and friends and finding out if they were OK. It was a bit weird and chaotic. We tried to keep calm but there was a level of anxiousness.”

Two fans, both wearing Honduras gear, got in around 8 p.m., after two hours of waiting in the mass of people. Both were soaked in sweat and visibly frustrated. They said police threatened them with tear gas and tasers.

“What’s happening is they want to control the people in the front and it’s not the people in the front. They’re pushing from the back,” Alejandro Flores told The Athletic. “You have to move the people in front out and control the people in the back. Pull them back so that the people can be orderly.

“Their job is to protect and serve. The people are fainting in front of their faces and it doesn’t matter to them at all. They don’t even want to give us water. Not even water, man. Not even water.”

Flores’ frustration boiled over again as he looked back at the people still pressed against the fences behind him.

“CONMEBOL is a disaster,” he said of the tournament’s organizers, the South American Football Confederation. “In North Carolina (the Uruguay-Colombia semifinal) was a test. They should have prepared themselves and the same thing is happening. North Carolina was a disaster. Right now, it’s going down the same path, or worse.

“CONMEBOL should not have brought this tournament to the United States… Look around, because they’re not ready for a World Cup.”

Fans wait to be granted entry into the stadium (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

This stadium will host seven matches at the 2026 men’s World Cup — four in the group stage, a round-of-32 game, a quarterfinal and the third-place playoff. The tournament is organized by soccer’s world governing body FIFA as opposed to CONMEBOL.

Another fan who declined to give a name stood with his hands on his hips near an escalator at the entrance, watching the scene from which he had just emerged continue to play out.

“People piled on. There was more and more pressure and people were fainting,” he said. “There are children vomiting, a lot of people there, and you can’t move. In other words, you don’t have control of your body; you go where they push you. And on top of that, there is no one to organize or help with anything.”

As he was talking, police officers backed away from the gates and stood off to the side. Suddenly, at around 8:15 p.m., a quarter-hour after the game was initially supposed to kick off, the southwest gates were opened and fans flooded in without tickets being checked or anyone being patted down or passing through metal detectors.

A Hard Rock Stadium spokesperson said: “Shortly after 8 p.m., stadium officials, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and law enforcement officers communicated and decided to open stadium gates for a short period of time to all fans to prevent stampedes and serious injury at the perimeter. The gates were then closed once the threat of fans being crushed was alleviated. At that time, the venue was at capacity and gates were not re-opened.”

Video taken from the stadium appeared to show fans still sneaking into the stadium after that initial rush of supporters were let in. One video showed fans crawling through an opening up near a ceiling adjacent to ventilation. Another video showed fans climbing a makeshift ladder to get over a fence.

Thousands were still outside when the game eventually kicked off at 9.22 p.m., 82 minutes after it should have started. Some watched from the stadium’s aisles until police combed through the crowd checking for tickets and asking those without them to leave. Others retreated to the stadium concourses for food and water — alcohol sales were suspended shortly after kick off.

Those refused entry remained until well into the second half of the game, past 11pm, and Argentina did not seal its win until gone midnight after extra time.

Supporters eventually got to watch Argentina’s 1-0 win over Colombia — but those who gained entry without tickets were removed (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava issued a statement along with chief public safety officer James Reyes saying Miami-Dade Police provided more than 550 officers for the game and that they were “outraged by the unprecedented events at tonight’s Copa America finals”.

“The Copa America final is organized by CONMEBOL and Miami-Dade Police Department provides security support, along with other law enforcement agencies,” the statement read.

“Let’s be clear: This situation should never have taken place and cannot happen again. We will work with stadium leadership to ensure that a full review of tonight’s events takes place immediately to evaluate the full chain of events, in order to put in place needed protocols and policies for all future games.”

Hard Rock Stadium promised to work with CONMEBOL to address the “individual concerns of ticket holders who could not get in”.

“We are grateful to the law enforcement officers who managed a difficult situation and prioritized the safety of the venue, the players, their families and the fans,” a spokesperson added. “We will continue to work with law enforcement to identify and hold criminals accountable who engaged in illegal conduct tonight.

“It is disappointing that a night of celebration was impacted by unlawful and unsafe behavior and we will fully review the processes and protocols in place tonight and work with law enforcement to ensure such an event never happens again.”

Members of the press were caught out, too: Veronica Brunati, one of Argentina’s most respected football reporters, tweeted at 10.37pm to say she had been unable to enter the stadium.

“This is a nightmare,” she wrote. “It’s madness. There are thousands of us here outside our entrance gate.

“But I’m alive, thank God.”

(Top photos: Maddie Meyer, Megan Briggs/Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)