The black gates at the southwest entrance to Hard Rock Stadium remained closed for an hour and 45 minutes as a young child was carried on his parent’s shoulders in the crowd waiting to enter the Copa America final.
The boy waved at police officers and security guards standing next to the only open door to the stadium. He put his hands together as if praying, pleading to be let in.
“Please,” he said. “Please.”
The boy began to cry with relief as a security guard reached out and pulled him and his guardian toward the open gate, then spun him around to reveal Messi’s No. 10 on the back of his sky-blue and white Argentina jersey.
A similar scene played out for more than two hours at Miami Gardens as fans swarmed the closed gates, the near-disaster overshadowing the highlight of a match between South American powerhouses Argentina and Colombia vying for a major international title.
Supporters stream into Hard Rock Stadium ahead of Sunday’s Copa America final (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Fans were asked to arrive early and were not allowed to hold watch parties outside the stadium or in the parking lots. Hard Rock also said “fans must have a ticket for the game” to be on the stadium grounds on Sunday.
The crowds outside began gathering at 3pm, the gates were opened at 5pm, and crowds began to form outside at about 6pm, about two hours after the scheduled kickoff. Several fans were arrested after jumping the fence and trying to enter the game without tickets. The decision to close the stadium gates in response to what Miami-Dade Police called “disorderly conduct” was key to what followed.
— Miami-Dade Police (@MiamiDadePD) July 14, 2024
As the sun scorched down, fans surged toward the closed gates, creating a congestion. There were few visible barriers to try to disperse or slow the flow of people trying to get in. When the gates were slightly opened, fans surged forward and security closed them again. Several people left outside said they had no idea what was going on.
This pattern was repeated over and over, with fans being allowed in little by little, almost one by one. Occasionally, children arrived with their parents, red-faced, sweating, and crying. Other fans, visibly suffering from the heat, were supported by friends. Miami-Dade Fire Department set up a medical station just inside the gates, where they treated a steady stream of people suffering from the heat. Video showed fans holding up their tickets to the camera and saying they paid $2,000 for seats, yet being denied entry.
A Hard Rock Stadium spokesperson said: “Throughout the afternoon and evening, there were multiple attempts by rowdy, ticketless fans to overpower security and police officers at the stadium entrances, putting themselves, other fans, security and stadium staff at extreme risk.”
“Various gates to the stadium were strategically closed and reopened to allow safe and controlled entry for ticketed spectators. Fans continued to engage in unlawful behaviour, fighting with officers, destroying walls and barricades, vandalising the stadium and causing significant damage to the facilities.”
Fans gather outside the southeast gate of Hard Rock Stadium (Laura Williamson/The Athletic)
A woman, who later identified herself to The Athletic as Diana, was carried unconscious by police to the stadium. She lay on the concrete in an area prepared by paramedics, but eventually woke up and was given water. Steven, a 34-year-old Colombian from Miami who was with Diana, explained the incident:
“Everyone started pushing and I could feel myself getting out of breath,” he said, “and then as I got closer to the gate, I can only imagine, I realised Diana was in pain. Luckily, I was standing behind her.”
Diana, 28, said she remembers the moment she fainted.
“I tried to breathe,” she said. “A man kept telling me, ‘Try to breathe. Try to breathe,’ and I said, please open another gate. They were using one gate for all these people, but they pushed back. I held on to a man standing nearby. Everyone was pushing against each other. Colombians, Argentinians. Everyone was pushing against each other.”
Friends and family of players were also caught up in the chaos as the Southwest Gate was the entry point for media and VIP ticket holders. The family of Colombia full-back Daniel Muñoz, who were sitting together just inside the entrance as the gates closed, were pushed towards the entrance and eventually pulled inside.
“We were waiting in line as a family and some reckless people behind us started pushing me,” said Muñoz’s wife, Manuela Ángel, bloody from cuts on her wrists. “They thought I was causing a disturbance so they pushed me towards the police to get out of line. They started yelling at my children. My oldest is six and my youngest isn’t even two yet. I’m here with Daniel’s grandmother, my mother, my aunt and other family members. It was the hardest because I was standing in front of all of them. I had a ticket.”
“A police officer saw me crying and helped me. I told her I was Daniel’s wife and I was worried about the safety of our children. We had no problem getting into other stadiums (during the tournament) but tonight it was awful. Really awful.”
The family of Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister was also involved. “Alexis had to come outside to get us out,” his mother Silvina told Argentine television. “He was worried about us. It was inhuman. He hugged us. We told him to calm down and get ready to play.”
A fan is detained by police at Hard Rock Stadium (Juan Mavromata/AFP via Getty Images)
One media worker working for the tournament’s rights holder was tackled to the ground and arrested after passing through a gate where media workers were being held.
The Argentina and Colombia players went out to warm up in front of a sparse crowd just after 7pm but called off training by 7.30pm when it became clear the match would not start on time.
“We were told during the warm-up, in the locker room, that we would be 30 minutes late,” Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo said. “It was more than that, you know? I was trying to talk to my family and friends, to make sure they were OK. It was a bit strange and confusing. I tried to stay calm, but I was nervous.”
The two fans, both wearing Honduras jerseys, entered around 8pm after waiting in the crowds for two hours. They were both sweaty and visibly frustrated, and they said police had threatened them with tear gas and tasers.
“They’re trying to control the guys in front, but they’re not controlling the guys in front. They’re pushing from behind,” Alejandro Flores told The Athletic. “You need to get the guys in front out and control the guys in the back. If you can get them in the back, people can stay in order.”
“Their job is to protect and serve. It doesn’t matter to them if people pass out in front of them. They won’t even give us water. They won’t even give us water. They won’t even give us water.”
Flores looked back at the people still pressed up against the fence behind him and his anger erupted again.
“CONMEBOL is a disaster,” he said of the South American Football Confederation, which organises the tournament. “North Carolina (the semi-final between Uruguay and Colombia) was a test. They should have been prepared and the same thing is happening. North Carolina was a disaster. Now they are going down the same path or even worse.”
“CONMEBOL should never have put this tournament in the United States… If you look around, they’re not ready for the World Cup.”
Fans wait to be allowed into the stadium (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The stadium will host seven matches of the 2026 Men’s World Cup – four group stage matches, the round of 32, the quarterfinals and the third-place play-off. The tournament is organised by football’s world governing body, FIFA, rather than CONMEBOL.
Another fan, who declined to give his name, stood with his hands on his hips near the escalators at the entrance, watching the scene he had just emerged from unfold.
“People started pouring in, the pressure was getting stronger and stronger, people were passing out,” he said. “There were kids vomiting, there were so many people, you couldn’t move, you had no control over your body, you just moved with the force of being pushed. And on top of that, there was no one to organize anything or help.”
As he spoke, officers retreated from the gates and stood to the side. Then, 15 minutes after the game was scheduled to start, at about 8:15 p.m., the southwest gate suddenly opened and fans poured in without any ticket checks, body searches or metal detectors.
A Hard Rock Stadium spokesperson said: “Shortly after 8pm, following discussions between stadium officials, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and police officials, the decision was made to briefly open the stadium gates to all fans to prevent stampedes and serious injuries around the stadium. Once the risk of fans being crushed had subsided, the gates were closed. At that point, the venue was full and the gates were not reopened.”
Videos taken from inside the stadium showed fans continuing to sneak into the stadium after the initial admissions were allowed in. One video shows a fan crawling through an opening near the ceiling next to an air vent, while another shows a fan climbing a makeshift ladder to get over the fence.
The match finally kicked off at 9:22 pm, 82 minutes after the scheduled start time, but thousands still remained outside. Some watched from the stadium’s aisles, while police combed the crowd and asked non-ticket holders to leave. Alcohol sales were halted shortly after kickoff, so some people retreated to the stadium’s concourses in search of food and water.
The players who were denied entry remained there until late into the game, just after 11pm, and Argentina were unable to secure victory after extra time until just after midnight.
Supporters were ultimately able to watch Argentina win 1-0 against Colombia, but those who entered without tickets were turned away (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levin Cava released a statement alongside Public Safety Director James Reyes saying the Miami-Dade County Police Department had deployed more than 550 officers to the game and were “outraged by the unprecedented events at tonight’s Copa America final.”
“The Copa America Final is being hosted by CONMEBOL and the Miami-Dade Police Department is providing security support along with other law enforcement agencies,” the statement read.
“Let me be clear: this should never have happened and must never happen again. We are working with stadium leadership to immediately conduct a full review of tonight’s events to assess the entire sequence of events and put in place the necessary protocols and policies for all future matches.”
Hard Rock Stadium has pledged to work with CONMEBOL to address “the personal concerns of ticket holders who were unable to enter.”
“We would like to thank officers for managing a difficult situation and prioritizing the safety of the venue, players, their families and fans,” the spokesman added. “We will continue to work with police to identify and hold to account any offenders who committed unlawful acts tonight.”
“We are disappointed that our evening of celebration was affected by illegal and dangerous activity, and we will fully review the processes and protocols in place tonight and work with law enforcement to ensure this type of incident does not happen again.”
The press was also confused. Veronica Brunati, one of Argentina’s most respected football journalists, tweeted at 10:37pm that she had been unable to get into the stadium.
“This is a nightmare,” she wrote. “It’s madness. There are thousands of us outside the entrance gates.
“But I’m alive, thank God.”
(Top photo: Maddie Meyer, Megan Briggs/Getty Images; design by Dan Goldfarb)