Members of Uruguay’s national soccer team engaged in a physical altercation with fans of their rival Colombia on Wednesday in the stands of the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The brawl began after Uruguay lost to Colombia in the semi-finals of the Copa América, the most prestigious regional soccer title and the oldest international men’s soccer tournament. The event takes place every four years and is run by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). The United States is hosting this year’s tournament.
Colombia defeated Uruguay with a 1-0 score after Colombian player Jefferson Lerma scored a goal in the 39th minute in a match with only one brief incident of violence that resulted in a red card, or expulsion of a player from the match.
After the match ended, a brawl between members of Uruguay’s team and Colombian spectators broke out in the stands of the stadium. The altercation reportedly occurred in an area of the stands where friends and family members of the Uruguayan team sat near a group of Colombia fans.
Videos of the incident appeared to show Uruguayan player Darwin Núñez attempting to punch unidentified Colombia fans. Núñez had been expelled from the match after receiving a red card in response to his participation in a brief scuffle that took place before the end of the first half of the match.
Other videos appeared to show Núñez attempting to throw a chair at Colombia fans but being stopped by stadium security.
The Uruguayan team’s captain, José María Giménez, claimed that the altercation originated after a “certain sector of Colombia fans” allegedly insulted and threatened the families of the Uruguayan players, attempting to storm players’ family boxes. Giménez accused tournament organizers of offering insufficient security and claimed that drunken Colombia fans threatened children as young as “newborns,” attending the event alongside players.
“Let me say something before they cut you off – because they won’t let us speak into the microphone, they don’t want me to say anything about what’s going on – but this is a disaster,” Giménez said.
“Please be careful,” he advised the reporter, “our families are in the stands, there are little newborn babies. It was a disaster. There was not a single police officer, they showed up a half hour later. We had to be there showing up for our people.”
“I hope that this, the people who are organizing all this, are more careful with families, with people,” he continued. “This happens at every match. Our families are suffering due to people who take a drink or two of alcohol and don’t know how to drink who behave like children and are not decent.”
The brawl at the stands was preceded by a brief clash between players and part of the coaching staff of both teams on the field right after the match ended.
Uruguay’s technical director, Marcelo Bielsa, told reporters in a press conference that he thought the incident “ended with some argument in midfield and when I saw that I went to the locker room.”
“I thought they were thanking the fans for their support, but then I found out that unfortunately there were some problems there,” Bielsa said.
The South American Football Confederation released a brief statement on Thursday condemning “any act of violence that affects football [soccer].”
“Our work is based on the conviction that soccer connects and unites us through its positive values. There is no place for intolerance and violence on and off the field,” the statement reads.
CONMEBOL concluded its statement by inviting everyone “in the remaining days to pour all their passion into cheering on their national teams and have an unforgettable party.”
The Uruguayan national soccer team has not publicly commented on the incident at press time.
Colombia will face off against reigning FIFA World Cup champion Argentina in Copa America’s final match on the evening of Sunday, July 14, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. Uruguay and Canada will face each other in the third-place playoff on Saturday evening at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.