Miami-Dade mayor said chaos at Copa América final "should never have taken place"

SEATTLE - What was supposed to be a celebration ended up being a nightmare for thousands of people who went to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami to watch the Copa América 2024 final between Argentina and Colombia on Sunday. Security and police members were not able to prevent hundreds of ticketless fans from entering the stadium, a situation that led to chaos at the gates and the delaying of the game.

Hours after things calmed down following Argentina's victory and the raising of its 16th Copa América title, Daniella Levine Cava, mayor of Miami-Dade county, condemned the scenes at Hard Rock Stadium and pledged to conduct an investigation.

"Let's be clear: This situation should never have taken place and cannot happen again," she said. "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."

Cava said that the Miami-Dade Police Department had assigned over 550 officers, including Priority Response Teams, to the 65,000-seat stadium. In addition, MDPD brought in more personnel from other jurisdictions to ensure the safety of the attendees. But as videos and images shared all over social media showed, these measures were not enough.

The kick-off, originally scheduled for 8pm ET, was postponed for about 82 minutes as authorities tried to control thousands of fans attempting to enter the stadium in any way possible. At one point, organizers decided to close security gates amid the chaos in an attempt to "control the entry process" at a much slower rate and to "ensure everyone was kept safe."

It is yet unclear how many fans without tickets entered the stadium, but an MDPD spokesperson told The Athletic that there were multiple arrests for battery on a police officer, as well as multiple people arrested for trespassing. Other fans trying to enter without a ticket were escorted out, but not arrested. Several groups of fans were spotted seeking water and medical attention upon entering the venue, as temperatures reached 90°F in Miami Gardens throughout the day and hundreds spent hours in tight spaces waiting to get in.

Argentina's coach Lionel Scaloni commented on the situation after the game. "It's tough to explain what happened before the game." "We had players waiting for their families to get in the stadium. We had to start a match without knowing where your family members are. We were watching the videos. ... it was very weird."

It is worth noting that Hard Rock Stadium will likely face situations of the kind in the not-so-distant future, as it will also serve as a host venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and up to seven games are planned to take place at the South Florida stadium.