Fans lament lack of security after Copa America brawl

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fans are reacting to a brawl after the Copa America semifinal in Charlotte Wednesday.

Colombia won against Uruguay 1-0 to advance to the Copa America final against Argentina. 

The event drew 70,644 people from all 50 states and over 60 countries, according to to Charlotte FC. 

The brawl broke out between fans of Colombia and Uruguay behind the Uruguay bench. Then, more than a dozen Uruguayan players went into the stands, with a video showing Darwin Nùñez hitting a Colombian fan. 

Juan Sebastian Torres Garcia, who is Colombian, is a fan of his country’s national team. 

On Tuesday, he organized an event that drew hundreds to support the Colombian National Soccer team outside of the hotel the team stayed at in Charlotte. 

He was excited to have the team playing in his backyard.

“Since I found out the Colombian National Soccer team was going to play the Copa America, we bought tickets hoping they would make it to the semifinal,” Torres Garcia said. 

Wednesday, he attended the game at the stadium with his family. 

“It was a very exciting experience, a hard-fought game,” Torres Garcia said. 

He said choosing Bank of America Stadium for this match was the right call. 

“The experience was great. I loved this game,” he said. 

As he celebrated his team making it to the final, he noticed the brawl between fans of both teams and Uruguay players unfolding. 

He couldn’t see the altercation up close because he was on the other side of the stadium. However, he has been following the developments of the story on social media. 

“There were regrettable actions from both sides,” Torres Garcia said. 

Uruguayan soccer player Jose Maria Gimenez told another media outlet the situation was a disaster, which put their families in danger. He added they had to go into the stands to take out their loved ones with small babies, and there wasn’t a police officer in sight. 

The Associated Press said it took more than 10 minutes for police officers to arrive. 

Torres Garcia said he expected a larger police presence at the stadium, in general. 

“I think they should’ve taken better measures in terms of security,” Torres Garcia said. “In any given time, these things can happen, this is how soccer is. Many fans don’t care and don’t have respect for families.”

He said back in Colombia, police are on standby at soccer games with big rivalries to break up fights. 

However, since that’s not commonplace in the U.S., it may work differently. 

“This may have to do with them not having as much security here, they don’t imagine or don’t know this can happen in this country,” Torres Garcia said. 

Ashe Hamrick, who recorded a video of the incident, said he noticed a scuffle on the field before the fight. In addition, he said security did what they could, but the fight escalated quickly. 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said no incident inside the stadium was reported. However, it plans on having a larger police presence on Saturday when Uruguay faces Canada for the third-place match of Copa America. 

Tepper Sports and Entertainment said it didn’t have any official comment about the brawl.