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Marcelo Bielsa (Source: X
When Uruguay lost 1-0 to Colombia in the Copa America semifinal, Uruguay's coach Marcelo Bielsa believed his players should be punished for fighting with Colombian supporters in the stands, not for going into the stands.
An enraged Marcelo Bielsa blamed the tournament's organizers for not doing enough to shield the families of the players sitting behind the Uruguay bench, and he defended the players' actions in protecting their loved ones.
The governing body of soccer in South America, CONMEBOL, said on Thursday that its disciplinary committee had launched an inquiry. The federation released a statement saying, "It is unacceptable that an incident like this turns passion into violence." Uruguay offered the option of sitting families in luxury boxes rather than in the crowd.
The squad will play Canada in the third-place game on Saturday night at the same stadium. While the audience is likely to be more muted, security will remain the same. The match Wednesday night in the downtown Charlotte stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC, drew a rowdy crowd of over 70,000 people, the vast majority of whom were wearing Colombian colors.
There were insufficient preparations in place - Marcelo Bielsa
At the start of the game, there were just a few Uruguay fans in the stadium, most of whom were behind the team's bench. Following an intense and violent game with seven yellow cards and one red card, a brawl broke out in the stands, and beverages were thrown. Shoving and punching ensued. Over a dozen Uruguay players, including Darwin Nunez, ascended a tiny set of temporary steps into the crowd, increasing the chaos.
Bielsa said that there were insufficient preparations in place, and there was no emergency escape for Uruguay fans. Many members of the Uruguayan Soccer Association delegation fled the conflict by climbing down onto the playing field, while Mecklenburg County Police and security restored order once the stadium was vacated.