Following an ugly incident in the stands between Uruguayan players and Colombian supporters, Uruguay captain José María Giménez criticized security and the lack of a police presence in the crowd.
The incident, which took place after Colombia’s 1-0 win in Wednesday night’s Copa América match in Charlotte, was significant. It resembled 2004 Malice at the Palace in that players and fans were throwing punches at each other. Much of the fighting was also caught on camera during Fox’s postmatch coverage.
Things got particularly out of hand because the Colombian fans were converging on where the families of Uruguay’s players were seated.
In an article from Ben Burrows and Jack Lang of The Athletic, Giménez said, “There wasn’t a single police officer,” adding “They showed up half an hour later.”
Giménez added that he hopes organizers learn from this going forward.
“Our families are suffering because of some people who have a few drinks and don’t know how to drink, who act like children,” Giménez said. “Hopefully, they’ll take more precautions for the next game so this doesn’t happen again, because this is a disaster.”