The start of the sold-out Copa America final was delayed more than an hour on Sunday after Argentina and Colombia fans piled past gates and breached security at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Videos circulating social media show a chaotic scene as crowds of soccer fans broke through the stadium’s southwest gate, with police and security apprehending and tackling people who made their way in.
Other clips show stacks of fans piling up before a gate — situated just before an area where staff check tickets — gives way. Several more climb up fences and appear to enter vents at the stadium.
A number of people were seen receiving medical treatment, as well, according to ESPN.
Police were later spotted checking tickets and removing fans from seats inside the stadium during Argentina’s 1-0 win over Colombia.
Thousands of fans entered the venue without tickets, a spokesperson for Hard Rock Stadium wrote in a statement, and the chaos put fans ― as well as security and law enforcement ― “at extreme risk.”
The spokesperson added that security shut down the gates to get control of the entry process “at a much slower rate” and advised those inside without tickets to leave the venue, which is set to host matches for the 2026 World Cup.
The Miami-Dade Police Department, in a statement, pointed to the “unruly behavior” of fans attempting to get in the stadium and warned that such activity would lead to arrest.
A number of fans with tickets ― including those who spent $1,500 to attend the match ― were reportedly unable to watch the final following the chaos at the gates, according to CBS News Miami’s Trish Christakis.
The security breach led to criticism of the tournament’s organizers just days after a wild brawl involving Uruguay players and fans occurred in the stands following Colombia’s semifinal win in North Carolina.