On Sunday, fans barraged through the gates at Hard Rock Stadium to watch Argentina face Colombia. Videos and images surfaced of barricades falling at the entrances to the stadium concourse. Additionally, there were swaths of people waiting to get into the stadium as organizers locked entrances to maintain control. That did not stop people from climbing over walls or sneaking through air ducts to get into the arena.
According to Miami radio show personality Mike Ryan, CONMEBOL purposely oversold the number of tickets to the final beyond the number of seats available. If the report that was aired on The Dan Le Batard Show is true, it raises additional questions and concerns about the safety of the attendees at the game.
As the organizers for the event, CONMEBOL, the governing body of soccer in South America, did not establish firm control of the event’s ticketing. CONMEBOL failed to set up perimeters and checkpoints for the Copa America Final.
Indeed, Ryan noted that CONMEBOL did not properly check tickets when fans were parking for the event. As a result, there would be people without tickets tailgating and taking part in the pregame festivities at Hard Rock Stadium. The only place that could properly check tickets with codes and scanners was just ahead of the gates.
Unfortunately, fans took advantage of CONMEBOL’s carefree approach to checkpoints. With fans so close, the situation turned dangerous fast. The events outside the stadium delayed the game between Argentina and Colombia by 82 minutes.
Despite failing to adequately prepare for the Copa America Final, CONMEBOL has not yielded. Instead, it continues to point the blame at Hard Rock Stadium authorities.
“In this situation, CONMEBOL was subject to the decisions made by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities, according to the contractual responsibilities established for security operations,” CONMEBOL said. “In addition to the preparations determined in this contract, CONMEBOL recommended to these authorities the procedures proven in events of this magnitude, which were NOT taken into account. We regret that the acts of violence caused by malicious individuals have tarnished a final that was ready to be a great sports celebration.”
However, Hard Rock Stadium has hosted major events before. Super Bowls, College Football Playoff games, the Miami Open in tennis, F1’s Miami Grand Prix and other international soccer games at both national and club level are all on the record of Hard Rock Stadium. As Mike Ryan says, this stadium seldom has any issues like this. Understandably, Hard Rock Stadium released a statement to defend itself.
“Hard Rock Stadium worked collaboratively with CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and law enforcement agencies on security both leading up to and during the Copa America tournament.”
FIFA has that role for the World Cup. It is the one that determines how and where tickets are sold. There are major restrictions on reselling markets. Moreover, FIFA strictly sets checkpoints around the stadiums to ensure those without tickets cannot get near the stadium. In doing so, it prevents the chance of fans breaking into the stadium.
South American soccer expert Tim Vickery added his analysis of the situation. “You can guarantee with FIFA coming to town for the World Cup that the level of organization will be better than [Copa America]. I think a few lessons will be learned,” said Vickery.
The Copa America will leave a stain on soccer in Miami. Still, the stadium is going to host seven games for the World Cup, including three in the knockout stages. Those contests will also have droves of fans looking to attend, but FIFA’s, not CONMEBOL’s, policies on ticketing and perimeters will prevent the issues from this summer.
PHOTOS: IMAGO
