Copa América final chaos: Game delayed, fans stuck outside after gates breached, police response – MASHAHER

Chaos consumed the Copa América final hours before kickoff in Miami, where hundreds, perhaps thousands of fans were stuck outside Hard Rock Stadium gates as security tried, and apparently failed, to manage the inflow of spectators for Sunday’s game between Argentina and Colombia.

At around 7:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the scheduled 8 p.m. start, all stadium gates had been closed, and organizers announced that kickoff had been delayed until at least 8:30.

Some presumably un-ticketed fans — it’s not clear how many — had reportedly breached at least one entry gate hours earlier. They streamed toward the stadium concourse, with police and security personnel chasing after them.

The breach provoked a forceful police response, which seemed to exacerbate the chaos.

Authorities responded by closing the breached gate, and eventually all stadium gates with less than an hour to go until the 8 p.m. kickoff.

This left many ticketed fans — including, reportedly, family members of players — unable to enter, and stuck in a mass of people, sweating in sweltering heat and South Florida humidity.

Prior to the full closure, for a brief time, they were letting fans in one by one, with a dozen officers lining the entryway.

Multiple journalists on the scene said they and others were told by police to stop filming the chaos, which will raise all sorts of critical questions about the preparedness of CONMEBOL, the South American soccer confederation in charge of the Copa América, and local organizers in Miami.

Videos began to spread shortly after gates opened at 5 p.m. local time.

This is a developing story and will be updated.