CONMEBOL got lucky. What happened at the entrance of Argentina vs Colombia didn’t end in tragedy because ‘God didn’t want it’ (literally). There was complete disorganisation, with no security measures around the stadium, thousands of fake tickets, people sneaking in from all sides, mixed fans and much more.
The consequence was an accumulation of thousands of people at some gates that had no human consequences, only ‘because God didn’t want it’. All this in a country, the United States, which in two years’ time will host a World Cup (2026), although with FIFA, it is assumed, it will be another matter.
Video: Maluma and Argentinian fans fight during Copa America final in Miami
CONMEBOL got away with it and Alejandro Dominguez, its president, should learn from what happened yesterday. Children crying, elderly people on the verge of collapse in the sun and trapped in an endless queue of people, with the stadium opening the gates at the end indiscriminately to avoid tragedy.
But not only that. The playing fields were pitiful. To go from artificial turf to natural grass in three days was an unacceptable situation. At the World Cup, with FIFA, it is supposed to be a different matter. But CONMEBOL should take more care of its image, its tournament and its presentation.
The half-time of the final lasted 26 minutes because of the Shakira half-time show… in the same tournament in which several coaches were sanctioned for not respecting the 15-minute half-time limit. Excuse me?
The feeling of those of us who were there was that it was a miracle that there was no tragedy. By the way, some of those who were there had fake press accreditation – how can accreditation without a bar code be allowed! Even my niece could have forged it.
I have never seen anything like this in any of my nine previous Copa Americas. Gentlemen of CONMEBOL (I say this in a constructive spirit): this calls for a deep reflection. South American football (which has the world champion) deserves much more.
