How Uruguay vs Colombia descended into chaos – and the questions the ugly scenes raised

What should have been a spectacular match in the Copa America semi-final in Charlotte on Wednesday evening turned into a bar brawl, with several Uruguayan players, including Darwin Nunez and captain José Maria Gimenez, clashing with Colombian fans in the stands after the final whistle.

It was an ugly, chaotic and extraordinary scene that overshadowed a captivating match and raised serious questions about the security measures at Bank of America Stadium and CONMEBOL’s decision to stage a match of this magnitude at a venue used for the first time in the tournament.

Another match will be played in the same stadium on Saturday, when Uruguay will battle Canada for third place. In the meantime, an investigation will undoubtedly have to be launched to determine all the events that led to the unpleasant scenes circulating on social media after Colombia’s 1-0 win.

Nunez was visibly upset after being involved in an incident in which punches were thrown and objects were thrown into one of the blocks on the lower tier, where the families and friends of the Uruguayan players were close to the Colombian fans.

Darwin Nunez walked into the stands after the game (Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

There was a mixture of anger and frustration in the voices of the Uruguayan players afterwards.

“It’s a total disaster,” said Gimenez, the Uruguay captain. “There was no police. They came half an hour later. A disaster. And we were there, defending ourselves, defending our loved ones.

“Hopefully the organizers will take some more precautions with our families, with the people and the people around the stadiums. Because this happens at every game. Our families suffer because of people who have had a few drinks and don’t know how to drink, who behave like children.”

The Uruguayan Football Federation (AUF) has said it will analyse all the footage before deciding whether to file an official complaint. But it is clear that the AUF believes it was a mistake to place the players’ friends and families in the same area as the Colombian supporters without any form of separation.

“I think there should have been some kind of barrier, especially because it was known from the beginning of the tournament that Colombian fans would buy 95 percent of the tickets and that area (of the stadium) could become complicated,” said Ignacio Alonso, the president of the AUF.

As for the actions of Nunez, Gimenez and others, Alonso insisted that what they did was to be expected given the circumstances. “The Uruguayan players reacted instinctively to what is natural: to defend and protect the children who were in that part of the stands, the women who were attacked, the wives, fathers, children and brothers who were there. It is an instinctive reaction of a father,” he added.

The backdrop to all this was that emotions had been running high in the stadium all evening – Colombia played the entire second half with ten men after Daniel Munoz was shown a red card just before half-time – but it was the final whistle, after seven minutes of injury time, that provided the first of two breaking points.

There was initially a melee in the centre circle, where more than 40 players and staff gathered immediately after the match. Some Colombia and Uruguay players embraced, while others — including Uruguay’s Luis Suarez and Colombia’s Miguel Borja — got involved in a verbal altercation. There was a lot of pushing and shoving elsewhere, but at first glance there was nothing more sinister than that.

However, a few moments later, some Uruguayan players began sprinting towards the sideline, in an area just to the right of their dugout. At first it was unclear what was happening, except that some children in Uruguayan shirts were being carried out of the lower tier and onto the field.

Videos that emerged later gave a more complete picture, showing Nunez, along with Gimenez and Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, climbing into the stands and angrily confronting the Colombian fans. As things got heated, Nunez appeared to be punched by a fan. The Liverpool striker also appeared to throw a punch back.

“Some players had wives, small children, their parents, older relatives… They went to check on them,” Suarez said. “Then those things started happening, the images you’ve seen. They (Nunez, Gimenez and others) were trying to protect their families. From what I saw, there were a lot of relatives and children affected. You’re powerless in that situation.”

It got crazy in the semifinals!! Right in my section! I hope everyone is ok pic.twitter.com/oyDQM0d9Ik

— Lloydsam (@MrLloydSam) July 11, 2024

Contrary to what Gimenez thought, there were police officers on the scene, although it took some time (more than 60 seconds) before they got the situation under control and needed the help of security personnel.

Before that, it threatened to become a free game when other Uruguayan players and staff got involved and climbed over chairs. Video footage appears to show Rodrigo Bentancur throwing an object into that area.

As for Nunez, he was clearly still furious and deeply upset by everything that had happened when he came down from the stands. The forward grabbed a chair, ran to an area where Colombian fans were taunting him and threw it against the wall below, causing several Uruguayan substitutes to drag him away.

Nunez looked extremely emotional at the time. He was being consoled by one of the Uruguayan backroom staff on the pitch, as well as Suarez and Luis Diaz, the Colombian forward who plays alongside him for Liverpool.

As the dust settled and fans began to stream out of the stadium, Uruguayan players were still on the pitch with their children. Matias Vina at one point held a baby in his arms, Nicolas de la Cruz sat on the ground with his daughter on his knee, and Nunez was later photographed with a child on his shoulder.

Mathías Viña with his baby in his arms. The Uruguayan footballers reacted to their reaction when they saw their relatives on the courts driving rival hinchas, who already had intersections on the party. photo.twitter.com/eaOuNfKlq4

— Sebastián Amaya (@sebaamaya) July 11, 2024

The Uruguayan players seemed to be in shock. “It was an ugly moment,” said Sergio Rochet, the Uruguayan goalkeeper. “It’s not nice to see these problems, especially when your family is only two meters away from you. We are sad to leave the tournament and now we have to deal with this situation.

“From what I saw, they (the fans) started throwing things. You try to stay away from that, but when you see that it’s your family, little kids, it’s hard. I was surprised by the lack of empathy from the Colombian players. I think they should have come to calm things down.”

Like many people in the stadium, Uruguayan manager Marcelo Bielsa initially had no idea what was going on. He said he initially thought his players would “thank the Uruguayan fans for their support. But then I learned that there were other kinds of unfortunate difficulties.”

As for CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation issued a statement that made no mention whatsoever of any issues surrounding a lack of organization in the stadium (something that was evident in so many ways on Wednesday night) or security concerns.

“CONMEBOL strongly condemns any form of violence that affects football,” the magazine said. “Our work is based on the belief that football unites and connects us through its positive values. There is no place for intolerance and violence on or off the pitch. We invite everyone to put all their passion into supporting their national teams for the remaining days and celebrate an unforgettable party.”

(Top photo: Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)