There was more than just football at the Copa America that Argentina won. The incidents with thousands of fans at the entrances to the Hard Rock Stadium where the final was played on Sunday closed a long list of errors by the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), in charge of the organization, and its president, Alejandro Domínguez. It also raised questions about the United States’ ability to organize the Club World Cup in 2025 and the World Cup in 2026. The problems began with complaints about the quality of the grass on fields that until days before the start of the tournament had synthetic carpets. Then there was criticism of the fixturethe safety of the players’ families in stadiums and training camps, and the decision to prioritise spectacle over matches. Adding 15 minutes to the half-time of the final to allow Shakira to sing raised alarm bells about the risk of turning high-level football tournaments into a sort of imitation of the Super Bowl.
Argentine Lionel Scaloni was one of the first to complain about the convenience of using stadiums designed for American football. Not only because the playing fields are at the limit of the minimum dimensions required by FIFA. “We have known for seven months that we played here and they changed the grass two days ago,” he said after the 2-0 victory over Canada in the opening match of the Cup. “It’s a good thing we won, because if not it would have seemed like an excuse,” he added. It was evident from the stands that the hastily placed pieces of bread on the synthetic grass had not finished joining together.
Conmebol rejected the criticism. The organization said that all the stadiums complied with FIFA standards and highlighted the effort that went into putting natural grass in six stadiums and replanting it in another three that did not have it in good condition. In only five of the 14 fields chosen for the Cup was simple maintenance enough. Scaloni was later joined by players from the different national teams, such as Colombian James Rodríguez, chosen as the best player in the tournament. After the victory against Paraguay in the debut, the São Paulo midfielder said that the fields “do not help much” to the development of the game. “It is dry, they put down a strange carpet. The conditions of the field are not very good,” he complained.
The one who finally exploded due to the accumulated discontent was Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentine in charge of Uruguay’s bench usually says what he thinks. La Celeste arrived at the fight for third place after a very tough match against Colombia, which ended with its players fighting in the stands against rival fans. They said that the lack of security had put their families in danger. Bielsa was upset when asked his opinion on possible sanctions. He said that the Uruguayan players expected an apology and took the opportunity to lash out without filter against CONMEBOL and the host country. “Nothing happened here, it was a party, full stadiums, but they cannot continue to deceive us that the fields are perfect. They held a press conference saying that it was a visual issue, that Vinicius does not see, that Scaloni should not speak. All threats. Scaloni spoke once and dared to say that the joints on the grass do not close. And the training fields were a disaster. “It is a disgrace in a country that, as an organizer, has responsibility,” he said.
And so the day of the grand final arrived, with heated spirits. CONMEBOL’s decision to extend halftime from 15 to 25 minutes so Shakira could sing had already gone down badly with the benches of Argentina and Colombia. Changing the rules to turn the match into a spectacle with American DNA did not seem like a good idea. The Cafeteros’ coach, Argentine Néstor Lorenzo, said beforehand that he would have liked a traditional match, as indicated in the rules. “When we came out (from halftime) at (minute) 16, they fined us. Now there is a spectacle and we have to come out at 25. With the impact it can have physically on the players. I found out today that it will be like this, and that’s it,” he complained. He did not yet know that things would get much worse.
Security errors on Sunday caused chaos at the entrance to Hard Rock Stadium and the final was delayed by an hour. The organizers made textbook mistakes, perhaps thinking that a Copa America final is like a rock concert and is governed by the same rules. Instead of creating security rings to filter the fans little by little, they were allowed to get to the turnstiles. Since thousands of people did not have tickets, a small avalanche was enough to cause chaos. Security was overwhelmed, the stadium doors were closed and thousands of fans with their corresponding tickets were left outside. It was Scaloni who complained again, this time on behalf of the families of the players who took hours to enter the stadium. For Lorenzo, the delay also had an impact on his players, who had to return to the locker room after they had already warmed up on the field. We will have to trust that Conmebol will take note of the errors of this Copa America.
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