Handout/Miami-Dade County/Reuters
Ramón Jesurún, president of the Colombian Football Federation, is seen in this photo taken by police after a brawl at the Hard Rock stadium.
CNN
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Colombian Football Federation president Ramón Jesurún was arrested at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, after Argentina defeated Colombia in the Copa América final on Sunday.
Jesurún, who is also vice-president of tournament organizer and South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL, was charged with three crimes: “assault of a certain official/employee.”
Jesurún, 71, is accused of being involved in an “aggressive physical confrontation” with several stadium security officers, according to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD).
The 43-year-old son of the federation’s president, Ramón Jamil Jesurún, was arrested on the same assault charges plus one other assault charge, in the same conflict, according to another arrest report.
Neither the Colombian Football Federation nor CONMEBOL responded to CNN’s request for more information about the Jesurúns’ arrests.
According to police, the Jesurúns were part of a group that tried to gain access to a tunnel leading to the field. Security officers temporarily stopped people there while media gathered in the next part of the tunnel.
The arrest report says the Jesurúns then became “enraged” and began yelling at a security guard. Jesurún Sr. is accused of pushing the officer who had his hand on the president in an attempt to detain him, and Jesurún Jr. is accused of grabbing the officer by the neck and pulling him to the ground before punching and kicking him.
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Concerns have been raised about the way the US will handle the 2026 World Cup.
More security officers then intervened and were also attacked by the Jesurúns when other members of their group tried to detain the father and son, according to arrest reports.
According to the MDPD, 27 people were arrested and 55 people were turned away in connection with the game, with a large number of people without tickets making their way into Hard Rock Stadium ahead of the highly anticipated game. More than 800 police officers from multiple local agencies were present at the stadium, the MDPD said in its statement.
Due to crowd control issues, the Miami-Dade Police Department has called for a major overhaul of all safety and security protocols ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will host seven matches of the tournament at Hard Rock Stadium.
“As part of the full analysis of last night’s game, we will be reviewing the protocols that have been put in place to ensure an orderly, safe and secure environment for all future events,” MDPD Director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a press release. “I am very proud of our officers’ response to a volatile situation and their hard work to keep our community safe.”
After fans breached security, Miami-Dade police blocked the entrances and kickoff was delayed.
In a rackHard Rock Stadium summed up the night’s events, saying: “Fans continued to engage in illegal behavior – fighting with police officers, tearing down walls and barricades, and vandalizing the stadium, causing significant damage to the property.”
It was later decided to reopen the stadium gates “for a short period of time to all fans to prevent stampedes and serious injuries on the perimeter of the stadium,” Hard Rock Stadium said.
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Fans without tickets entered the stadium.
“The gates were closed once the threat of crushed fans had passed. At that point, the venue was full and the gates were not reopened,” stadium officials said. “We understand that there are disappointed ticket holders who were unable to enter the stadium after the perimeter was closed, and we will work with CONMEBOL to address those individual concerns.”
In a statement issued Monday about the security breaches, CONMEBOL said it was “subject to the decisions taken by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities, in accordance with the contractual responsibilities established for security operations.”
“In addition to the preparations laid out in this contract, CONMEBOL recommended to these authorities the procedures proven in events of this magnitude, which were NOT taken into account,” the confederation said. “We regret that the violent acts of malicious individuals have tarnished a final that was ready to become a great sporting celebration.”
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said she was outraged by the events at the stadium Sunday night.
“This situation should never have happened and cannot happen again. We will work with stadium management to ensure that a full review of tonight’s events takes place immediately to assess the full chain of events, in order to put in place the necessary protocols and policies for all future matches,” she said in a statement.