27 arrested, 55 ejected after chaos at Copa America final

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia was delayed more than an hour Sunday night after fans breached security.

The Miami-Dade Police say 27 arrests and 55 ejections were made in the crowd chaos at the finals of Copa America in Miami Gardens.

Ramón Jesurún, the head of soccer’s governing body in Colombia, was arrested along with his son Ramon Jamil Jesurun after being accused of fighting multiple security guards amid the spectacle.

Miami-Dade police detective Andre Martin confirmed to The Associated Press that both of them were detained Sunday after the event at Hard Rock Stadium, and charged.

According to a police report Ramón Jesurún allegedly pushed a security guard. Meanwhile, Jesurún Jr. is accused of grabbing a security guard by the neck, pulling him to the ground, then punching him twice even kicking him in the head.

Both father and son were booked on charges of battery on an official. Jesurún Jr. faces an additional charge of misdemeanor battery.

Arrest records showed Monday that Ramon Jamil Jesurun was booked on three counts of battery on an official Sunday.

Colombia's soccer federation didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP.

The game was supposed to start at 8 p.m. at the sold-out Hard Rock Stadium but fans rushed the gates, and it was delayed until 9:22 p.m. Video shows fans climbing fences and breaching security railings near the southwest entrance to the stadium, which is set to be one of the host sites for the 2026 World Cup.

Soccer

Argentina tops Colombia, 1-0, in extra time to win Copa America

Kendall Hyde

Hard Rock Stadium seats more than 65,000 people. Some fans without tickets still tried to get a peek at the game. WPTV's Kendall Hyde spoke with fans and employees who shared their experiences.

"It was crazy. They destroyed one of the escalators in the 72 Club and started rushing people. I heard the people were doing the tickets and they rushed them. That was crazy," said stadium employee Wilmer Raydoza, who has worked at the venue for 14 years.

"They were pushing people and kids. It was kind of scary because you got a lot of kids in there," said attendee Francisco Garcia.

Security concerns leave fans uneasy about F1, Taylor Swift, and the 2026 World Cup, which is expected to come to Hard Rock.

"They need more security to prevent these crazy events. It has to be careful with these events," said Garcia.

Hard Rock Stadium issued a statement Monday, saying that "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."

The statement says that after security realized it would not be "safe to start the match" at 8 p.m., they made a decision to postpone. It opened the gates to the stadium shortly after 8 p.m. "for a short period of time to all fans to prevent stampedes," then the gates were closed "once the threat of fans being crushed was alleviated."

Hard Rock Stadium added that some ticket holders were not able to get into the stadium "after the perimeter was closed." Tickets for the game cost around $1,500.

Miami Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Chief Public Safety Officer James Reyes posted a joint statement, saying that more than 550 officers were assigned to the stadium.

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

WPTV reached out to Miami-Dade police about security. They said they would send us a statement, but we have not heard back yet.

Argentina won the Copa America 1-0 in extra time.