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‘It was inhuman’: Why the Copa America final was delayed and dangerously close to disaster
It took less than 24 hours for the first civil suit against Copa America organizers to drop. Filed by Jacqueline Martinez against Hard Rock and CONMEBOL, the action sought more than $50,000 in damages.
In her complaint, Martinez alleged she purchased four “valid” tickets to Hard Rock Stadium, worth $4,395.59. However, she said she was denied entry “due to a large number of individuals rushing the arena and entering unlawfully, which resulted in overcrowding and safety concerns.” She claims this was a “foreseeable consequence of (the) defendants’ failure to implement adequate crowd control measures, security protocols and ticket verification processes.”
A chunk of the individual cases filed detail the injuries that fans allegedly suffered, like the suit filed on August 30 by Erika Rodriguez, the mother of the unnamed child described as having been on the collapsed escalator. These cases allege negligent security. One, filed by Isabel Quintero against Hard Rock, CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, was amended last week to include an additional 15 plaintiffs.
Many allege much the same failings.
Robert Capo says he was “violently hit, slammed and dragged … on the ground” by an unidentified man. Capo, who filed against Hard Rock, CONMEBOL and that unidentified man also alleged that organizers were “in a superior position to appreciate such hazards and take necessary steps to prevent harm.”
At least four separate class actions initially filed in county court have since moved to the federal system, where they plan to be pooled together to form what attorneys in court records describe as “the Copa America cases.” Previous attempts to consolidate the cases were denied, so attorneys have said in court records they plan to dismiss four of the latter complaints with the goal of those plaintiffs coming together under a class action originally filed by Das Nobel five days after the final.
Police officers detain a fan in a Colombia shirt (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Nobel’s lawsuit, which names Hard Rock, CONMEBOL and BEST Crowd Management as defendants, was filed on behalf of fans who paid money, sometimes in the thousands, to attend the match, but were later unable to get into the stadium. The denial, plaintiffs alleged, was a result of “the defendants’ failure to implement adequate security protocols that resulted in mass chaos, injuries and, ultimately, the defendants’ decision to open the stadium to thousands of unticketed fans.” That decision, the complaint alleged, resulted in people who had tickets being denied entry. It has been estimated that more than 65,000 tickets were sold for the final.
Unlike other cases, this specific set of claims does not seek damages for personal injury.
Attorneys for these Copa America cases filed several motions to voluntarily dismiss their cases without prejudice on Monday and court records show they will file an amended complaint by Wednesday formally pooling their resources. The decision had been delayed by the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, which devastated the Tampa Bay region of Florida, where the law offices of Varnell & Warick, P.A., the firm representing lead plaintiff Nobel, are located. This matter remains ongoing, with the defendants denying all allegations in court records.
Two of the most high-profile arrests relating to the final came after the game, in the early hours of Monday. The president of the Colombia Football Federation, Ramon Jesurun, and his son, Ramon Jamil Jesurun, were arrested by Miami-Dade police and booked on three counts of felony battery.
Colombian Football Federation president Jesurun has had a case against him dropped (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)
The case against the president has since been dismissed, but the charges against his son remain pending, with a hearing scheduled next month. According to an arrest affidavit, Ramon Jamil Jesurun attempted to access an area of the tunnel at the stadium where media gathered after the match when he was stopped by a security officer. Videos of the incident have since surfaced, showing what appears to be Jesurun being held back by young children in Colombia jerseys.
The altercation turned physical when the officer “placed an open palm on (Ramon Jamil Jesurun’s) chest to guide him back” and he then grabbed the officer “around his neck” and pulled the officer to the ground, according to the affidavit. Ramon Jamil Jesurun threw “two punches that impacted” the officer, then aimed “a direct kick” to the officer’s head while he was on the ground, per the affidavit.
Despite these ongoing legal challenges, Hard Rock Stadium continues to be a top venue of choice for some of the most high-profile soccer matches coming to the U.S. over the next two years.
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FIFA recently announced Inter Miami, which set an MLS record for most points earned in a season, qualified for next summer’s expanded Club World Cup and will host the tournament’s opening game at Hard Rock. The venue, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, could also stage the first competitive La Liga match ever played outside of Spain, potentially between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid this December.
“What an incredible club you have created here with your fans, with the players,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a surprise appearance at Inter Miami’s match over the weekend. “Miami loves football. The world loves football and the world loves Miami.”
Many who attended that chaotic Copa America final in July may not agree.
(Top photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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Publish date : 2024-10-22 09:00:00
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