CONMEBOL, Hard Rock Stadium face lawsuits after chaotic Copa America final

Legal problems loom in Miami for Copa America final organizers.

The operators of Hard Rock Stadium and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), which organized the tournament, are facing multiple lawsuits filed In the days following Sunday’s chaotic Argentina-Colombia match.

Fans alleged that organizers failed to control the match-day crowds, leading to spectators being barred from the stadium, even after spending thousands of dollars on tickets. In one case, a female fan alleged that she was physically harmed by the unruly crowds.

At least four lawsuits have been filed by multiple fans in Miami-Dade County’s 11th Circuit Court.including a class action lawsuit filed “on behalf of all persons who purchased tickets to the Copa America final and were denied entry.” More lawsuits are likely to follow.

Officials from CONMEBOL and Hard Rock Stadium declined to comment on the pending lawsuit when contacted Friday.

Jacqueline Martinez filed the first lawsuit Monday afternoon, just 15 hours after Argentina won its second straight Copa America title. Martinez sued the South Florida, or Hard Rock, stadium and the South American Football Confederation.

According to the lawsuit, Martinez purchased four tickets to the Copa America final, totaling $4,395.59. However, she was denied entry “due to a large number of individuals who rushed into the arena and entered illegally, creating congestion and safety concerns.”

The lawsuit said the overcrowding was due to “organizers’ failure to implement adequate crowd control measures, security protocols, and ticket verification processes.”

Marta Pintos, Eduardo Martinez and Nicolas Osorio filed a second, nearly identical lawsuit on Wednesday. Each of those lawsuits seeks more than $50,000 in damages.

Isabel Quintero filed a third lawsuit on Thursday against Hard Rock Stadium and the South American Football Confederation. In her lawsuit, Quintero says she “suffered serious injuries” in the final. Quintero alleges that “the huge crowds and unruly guests could have been anticipated and prevented.”

Quintero alleged that she was “denied entry, pushed, stepped on, and bumped into objects as a result of the defendants’ complete disregard for the safety of the guests.”

A class action lawsuit was also filed against the operators of Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday. The complaint, filed by Jason Manco of New York, does not name CONMEBOL as a defendant. Manco said he bought two tickets for $5,486.94 to attend the Copa America final on July 17, but like countless others, was denied entry.

The lawsuit says fans “paid millions of dollars to attend the event,” but were denied entry on Sunday, like Manko. The lawsuit says the class action could represent up to 7,000 individuals.

Manco’s lawsuit alleges that stadium officials should have known that additional security and crowd control measures “were necessary given the skirmishes that occurred at previous Copa América events, including the match between Colombia and Uruguay.”

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Manco also alleged that stadium officials “ignored warnings from the South American Football Confederation, the event’s organizer, about the need for additional security and crowd control measures.”

As the legal problems continued to mount, organizers made little comment in the days following the Copa America final, raising questions about who had ultimate control over security plans.

On Monday, the South American Football Confederation laid some blame on Hard Rock Stadium officials in its only public statement since the tournament ended.

“In this case, CONMEBOL was subject to the decisions taken by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities, in accordance with the contractual responsibilities defined for security operations. In addition to the preparations specified in this contract, CONMEBOL recommended to these authorities measures that have proven effective in events of this magnitude, which were not taken into account,” the statement from CONMEBOL read.

Hard Rock officials responded Tuesday with a statement saying the venue has hosted “hundreds of global events over its 37-year history,” including NFL Super Bowls and other international soccer matches. Stadium officials said those, too, were the result of a collaborative effort between the organizer, local law enforcement and the venue.

“Hard Rock Stadium worked in collaboration with CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and local law enforcement agencies on security prior to and during the Copa America,” venue officials said. “The agencies met regularly, including daily security briefings throughout the month-long tournament. Hard Rock Stadium implemented, and in many cases exceeded, CONMEBOL’s security recommendations throughout the tournament and the final.”

Hard Rock officials said they will evaluate protocols in place across all aspects of stadium operations, as they do after every major event.

Officials also said they would work to compensate fans who had tickets but were unable to attend the final. The stadium was closed when officials deemed the venue had “reached its maximum capacity.”

Officials estimated on Sunday that “thousands” of fans tried to force their way into the stadium without tickets, meaning there could be thousands of ticketed guests who were unable to enter the stadium.

When asked about the refunds, officials from CONMEBOL and Hard Rock said: The athlete Friday Fans who purchased tickets through Ticketmaster and were denied entry should contact Ticketmaster to request a refund. If someone purchased tickets through a secondary market, their refund requests should be directed to the specific seller they purchased their tickets from.

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(Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)