Compared to Wednesday’s nearly-sold out Copa America semifinal between Colombia and Uruguay as well as the brawl between Colombian fans and Uruguayan players that took place afterward, the events of Saturday’s third-place game at Bank of America Stadium were muted.
The consolation match between Canada and Uruguay itself was still an intense affair with a dramatic finish. But with the lack of stakes and the events of the days preceding it, the Copa America’s brief stay in Charlotte will be remembered more for Wednesday’s semifinal and the fight in the stands that took place after.
Uruguay topped Canada in penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw in regulation on Saturday in front of 24,386 fans, much less than the 70,644 in attendance on Wednesday, to take third place in the tournament.
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Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet (1) high fives a teammate after successfully winning the penalty kick contest against Canada during Saturday’s second half at Bank of America Stadium. / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports Jim Dedmon Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
However, there will be no such consolation prize for CONMEBOL — the South American federation and organizers Copa America — following the aftermath of Wednesday’s incident and other criticisms the confederation has faced throughout this edition of the tournament in the U.S.
Uruguay needed a goal from Luis Suarez in the third minute of second-half stoppage time to send the game to a penalty kick shootout, but it took the lead early. Rodrigo Bentacur latched onto a loose ball from a Uruguayan corner and fired a strike into the back of the net to open the scoring in the eighth minute.
Canada’s Ismaël Koné equalized in the 22nd minute with an acrobatic finish after Uruguay failed to clear a corner kick. Jonathan David later latched onto a rebound and found the back of the net in the 80th minute, scoring a goal that appeared to secure Canada a comeback victory before Suarez’s late equalizer.
Goalkeeper Sergio Rochet made a crucial save for Uruguay in the penalty kick shootout before Alphonso Davies’ miss secured La Celeste’s 4-3 shootout victory and their 31st top-three finish at a Copa America — the second-most of any team behind only Argentina.
Uruguay’s quaint celebration on Saturday was in stark contrast to the fight in the stands following Wednesday’s loss, when captain José Giménez said the players went into the stands to defend their families.
Fans get into an altercation with players and staff from Uruguay after Wednesday’s Copa Armerica semifinal match between Uruguay and Colombia at Bank of America Stadium. Jim Dedmon Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
A statement from the Uruguayan federation on Friday called the players’ actions “an unjustified but humanly understandable reaction,” and added that “there were not sufficient security mechanisms for such a situation.”
“One has to speak thinking about all the threats he will receive if he speaks,” Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa said at a press conference on Friday. “So, the only thing I can tell you is that the players reacted the same way any human being would.”
“If you see what happened happen and there’s (no other process to escape) and they are attacking their girlfriends, their mothers, a baby, their wives, their mothers — what would you do?”
CONMEBOL opened an investigation into the incident on Thursday, but no players were suspended for Saturday’s game.
While Wednesday’s brawl brought the most attention, the confederation has also faced consistent criticism from players and coaches throughout the tournament relating to the quality of the fields — many of which, including Bank of America Stadium, had layers of grass laid over the usual turf.
“They’ve said that the pitches are in perfect condition and all the lies they have said here, doing a press conference to say that the pitches are perfect and you see how the grass patches won’t work,” Bielsa said. “And they said the training facilities are perfect, but Bolivia couldn’t train and I have pictures to prove that it’s all lies, this is a plague of liars.”
While CONMEBOL was responsible for the fields and security throughout this year’s Copa America as tournament organizers, many of the same venues will be used for games and practices during the 2026 World Cup in the U.S. This leaves FIFA to find better solutions to avoid similar outcomes when the world’s largest sporting event comes to the U.S in two years.
If it doesn’t, it could be left to face even more backlash than CONMEBOL has in the fallout of Wednesday’s incident in Charlotte and other criticisms of this year’s Copa America.
Nicky Wolcott recently graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and is interning with The Charlotte Observer’s sports section for the 2024 summer. He also covers high school sports for The Washington Post and was selected to cover Super Bowl LVIII as an intern with the Sports Business Journal earlier this year. He was a sports editor for two years at The Diamondback, Maryland’s independent student newspaper.
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Publish date : 2024-07-14 00:09:56
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