MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The start time for the final of the 2024 Copa América between Argentina and Colombia has been delayed "until further notice" following a security breach in which fans broke through one of the main entry gates.
Video on social media showed fans breaking through the southwest gate at Hard Rock Stadium, with some being tackled or otherwise apprehended by police and security personnel. A security guard manning an interior entrance to the stadium confirmed to ESPN that the southwest gate at the venue had been locked down due to a breach.
The stadium briefly went on lockdown, before Hard Rock Stadium issued the following statement: "In anticipation of tonight's Copa America Final, thousands of fans without tickets attempted to forcibly enter the stadium, putting other fans, security and law enforcement officers at extreme risk. Security has shut the gates in order to control the entry process at a much slower rate and ensure everyone is kept safe.
"As a result, tonight's match start time has been delayed until further notice to accommodate for ticketed fans to be able to safely enter the stadium."
An officer for the Miami-Dade Police Department told ESPN that all gates were locked down after the initial rush of fans, while another officer said it kept changing, describing the situation as "very fluid."
Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister's mother Silvina said she needed her son's assistance to enter the stadium and described the situation outside as "inhumane." She said the two were in constant communication as Mac Allister waited in a Hard Rock Stadium tunnel to assist his family inside.
"Alexis had to leave the locker room to help us get in because he was worried. I thought [the game] couldn't continue," she said in a post on social media. "I thought the game wouldn't be played because if the players thought they would resolve this, impossible that it would be played. It was inhumane. We are okay.
"We were in communication with Alexis the whole time, but he said he would stay outside until we would come in. he waited for us until we came in. We hugged him once inside, left him to be calm and told him to win."
The Miami-Dade Police issued the following statement: "We have had several incidents prior to the gates opening at Hard Rock Stadium for the COPA America final game. These incidents have been a result of the unruly behavior of fans trying to access the stadium.
"We are asking everyone to be patient, and abide by the rules set by our officers and Hard Rock Stadium personnel."
Video and images taken by ESPN showed fans crowding around the southwest gate waiting to be let in. Fans have been congregating at Hard Rock Stadium since well before the planned kickoff at 8 p.m. ET, with one parking lot attendant saying he had been called to work early given that fans started to arrive as early as 6 a.m.
A handful of people could be seen receiving medical treatment and asking for water in the sweltering South Florida heat. Officers were able to push the crowd behind black gates and lock down the entrance so that no one could get inside, although plenty of fans had already made it to their seats before then.
A sellout crowd of more than 65,000 was expected for the championship match of the South American tournament, with Argentina looking to defend its title.
It isn't clear which of the fans who gained entrance during the rush had tickets to the match. CONMEBOL, South America's governing body, released a statement a day before warning that fans must have tickets to enter the venue.
The Copa América has been plagued by organizational and planning issues almost from the moment the tournament started, with teams complaining about field conditions, field sizes, the state of training fields, as well as crowd control issues.
At the conclusion of Wednesday's semifinal when Colombia beat Uruguay, Uruguayan players Darwin Núñez and Ronald Araújo went into the stands at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, when they thought family members were in danger from opposition fans.
ESPN writer Lizzy Becherano contributed to this story, while information from The Associated Press was also used.