Multiple lawsuits have been filed by fans against South American soccer’s governing body CONMEBOL and the operators of Hard Rock Stadium in the wake of the chaos surrounding Sunday’s Copa América final.
The complainants claim that they purchased tickets for the final but that crowd-control issues prevented them from entering the stadium.
The first suit was filed on Monday by Jaqueline Martinez against South Florida Stadium LLC (Hard Rock Stadium) and the Confederacion Sudamerica de Futbol (CONMEBOL) in the Circuit Court for the 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County.
A second suit was filed on Wednesday by Marta Pintos, Eduardo Martinez and Nicolas Osorio against the same defendants.
Each suit is seeking over $100,000 in damages.
Sunday’s final between Argentina and Colombia in Miami Gardens, Florida, was delayed by 82 minutes after fans without tickets broke through security barriers in order to get into the venue.
Stadium personnel responded by locking down the venue in a bid to regain control. But when dangerous conditions developed, with some fans at risk of getting crushed against the gates, the venue was reopened, allowing some fans to enter whether they had tickets or not.
When the stadium reached capacity, the stadium gates were closed again, preventing some fans with tickets from entering.
Miami-Dade Police stated that there were 27 arrests and 55 ejections, while Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told ESPN that they responded to 120 incidents at the stadium, 116 of which were medical-related.
In her complaint, Martinez alleges that she purchased four tickets to the Copa América final for $4,395.59.
“Despite having a valid ticket, Plaintiff was denied entry to the sporting event due to a large number of individuals rushing the arena and entering unlawfully, which resulted in overcrowding and safety concerns,” the complaint reads.
The complaint goes on to allege that the “unlawful entry of individuals into the arena was a foreseeable consequence of Defendant’s failure to implement adequate crowd control measures, security protocols and ticket verification processes.”
It adds: “As a result of being denied entry, Plaintiff was unable to attend the sporting event and suffered monetary loss, emotional distress and other damages.”
Neither CONMEBOL nor Hard Rock Stadium immediately responded to requests for comment from ESPN.
In a statement following the final, CONMEBOL pointed the blame at Hard Rock Stadium, saying on Monday that the facility did not take into account its recommendations for the final of South America’s most important national team tournament.
In response, Hard Rock authorities on Tuesday said they “exceeded” CONMEBOL security recommendations.