Colombia’s football federation president and son among 27 arrested in chaos at Copa America final

Ramon Jesurun and his son Ramon Jamil Jesurun were detained after the event at Hard Rock Stadium and charged. (AFP/File)
Short Url
Updated 16 July 2024
Follow

Colombia’s football federation president and son among 27 arrested in chaos at Copa America final

  • Both men are facing three counts of felony battery on an official after being accused of fighting multiple stadium security guards
  • In a statement released Monday, CONMEBOL said it regrets the scene in which countless fans entered the stadium without tickets and “tarnished” the event

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Colombia’s football federation president and his son were among 27 people arrested during the crowd control issues that broke out Sunday at the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia, police said Monday.

Ramon Jesurun and his son Ramon Jamil Jesurun were detained after the event at Hard Rock Stadium and charged, Miami-Dade police detective Andre Martin told The Associated Press.

Both men are facing three counts of felony battery on an official after being accused of fighting multiple stadium security guards. Arrest records said both men tried to go onto the field through a tunnel where media was gathering after the match. They were stopped by security, and the police report said they “became irate” at the delay. A verbal altercation eventually turned physical with a guard placing an “open palm” on Ramon Jamil Jesurun’s chest to “guide him back” and the younger Jesurun grabbing the guard “around his neck” and pulling him to the ground before throwing “two punches that impacted” the guard, the report said. The two men were placed into custody after midnight.

Colombia’s football federation didn’t immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from the AP.

Ramon Jesurun, 71, has been president of the Colombian football federation since 2015 and is a vice president of CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body that organizes the Copa America tournament.




Ramon Jesurun, the head of Colombia’s football federation, is shown in this police booking photo after an altercation at the stadium shortly after midnight, according to arrest reports by Miami police, in Miami, Florida, Monday. (Reuters)

In a statement released Monday, the organization said it regrets the scene in which countless fans entered the stadium without tickets and “tarnished” the event. The game was delayed for more than an hour as authorities worked to control the situation, eventually deciding to let some fans in without going through security checkpoints.

“In this situation, CONMEBOL was subject to the decisions made by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities, according to the contractual responsibilities established for security operations,” the organization said. “In addition to the preparations determined in this contract, CONMEBOL recommended to these authorities the procedures proven in events of this magnitude, which were NOT taken into account.”

Hard Rock Stadium — the site of 2026 World Cup matches — said security was a shared responsibility between its stadium officials, the organization, CONCACAF (the governing body that oversees football in North and Central America and the Caribbean) and local police.

“More than double the personnel” used for a typical event were onsite Sunday, a stadium spokesperson said in a news release.

Miami-Dade police said more than 800 law enforcement officers were at the match. In addition to the arrests, 55 people were ejected, they said.

It was a chaotic scene just hours before the scheduled 8 p.m. start of the championship match between the two South American countries: Fans forced their way in and jumped over security railings and ran past police officers and stadium attendants, some appearing hysterical as they searched for the people they arrived with.

There appeared to be significant damage to the venue as a result. Video and images posted to social media showed the shattered side railings of an escalator inside the stadium, with shoes, soda cans, reading glasses and articles of clothing left behind. Security railings at a checkpoint in the southwest entrance to the stadium were bent over as thousands of people, including crying children, pushed against them.

The Hard Rock Stadium release said stadium officials communicated with tournament organizers around 8 p.m. and decided to open the gates to both ticketed and unticketed fans who were thrust against the entrance in fear of stampedes and serious injuries. The gates were then closed with many ticketed fans left outside.

The stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, which is home to the NFL’s Dolphins, will be the site of seven World Cup matches in 2026, including a quarterfinal and third-place match.

FIFA organizes the World Cup and is a different organization from CONMEBOL. FIFA is an international federation that oversees more than 200 affiliated associations under regional bodies like CONMEBOL.

Ramon Jesurun is also a member of the FIFA Council.

FIFA did not immediately respond Monday to the AP’s request for comment on the crowd control issues and how it would prevent similar problems in 2026.

Attorney Steve Adelman, a crowd control expert and vice president of the Event Safety Alliance, said Hard Rock organizers failed to understand that Sunday’s game would bring out passionate fans desperate to see their teams, some willing to force their way inside.

“A match between fans of two rival South American nations is about as passionate as you’re going to get,” he said.

Adelman said organizers should have learned from the 2021 Euro Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium, where ticketless England fans forced their way inside for their team’s match with Italy. The melee injured 19 police officers and resulted in 53 arrests. In 1989, 97 people were fatally crushed at a major English match when fans forced their way into the stadium.

“Unfortunately, international football matches have been marked by this sort of aggressive supporter behavior,” Adelman said. “This behavior is not desirable, it’s not good, but it is reasonably foreseeable. ... They needed to plan for the crowd they were likely to have, not the crowd they wished they had.”


Carsley makes flying start as England interim boss in win over Ireland

Updated 07 September 2024
Follow

Carsley makes flying start as England interim boss in win over Ireland

  • Rice and Grealish, who both snubbed Ireland to represent England, scored in the first half of Carsley’s maiden game in charge following Gareth Southgate’s exit
  • Carsley has stepped up on a temporary basis while the Football Association seek a permanent successor to Southgate

DUBLIN: England interim manager Lee Carsley enjoyed a dream debut as goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish silenced their Ireland tormentors and inspired a 2-0 win in Saturday’s Nations League opener in Dublin.
Rice and Grealish, who both snubbed Ireland to represent England, scored in the first half of Carsley’s maiden game in charge following Gareth Southgate’s exit.
Southgate quit after England’s heartbreaking Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain in July.
Carsley, who guided England Under-21s to European Championship glory last year, has stepped up on a temporary basis while the Football Association seek a permanent successor to Southgate.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe and former Chelsea manager Graham Potter are said to be among the leading contenders.
But Carsley’s hopes of landing the job himself were boosted by England’s confident display in the Nations League Group B2 victory at the Aviva Stadium.
It was a bold statement of intent from the 50-year-old, whose adventurous England were a far cry from the staid unit that twice finished as Euro runners-up under Southgate despite rarely playing to their potential.
England’s first win in Dublin since 1964 has to be placed in context given the poverty of opposition provided by Ireland
Ireland’s new manager Heimir Hallgrimsson is a qualified dentist and he may find the job of rebuilding his struggling team proves more painful than root canal treatment.
Carsley stuck by his controversial decision not to sing ‘God save the King’ before kick-off, a move that antagonized the more patriotic sections of England’s fanbase.
Birmingham-born Carsley has Irish grandparents, which allowed him to win 40 Ireland caps during his playing career, but he said on Friday that he has never sung a national anthem because he prefers to focus on the match ahead.
If Carsley, whose next game comes against Finland at Wembley on Tuesday, continues to mastermind this kind of eye-catching performance, the debate over his anthem stance will quickly be forgotten.
This was only England’s second trip to Dublin in 29 years after a 1995 friendly between the teams was abandoned when visiting fans rioted at Lansdowne Road.
Promoting “a new era of friendship” between countries with a tortured political past, Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer swapped football shirts ahead of the match.
There was still a hostile reception for Rice and Grealish, who were jeered by the 50,000 crowd for changing their allegiance to England despite representing Ireland at senior and Under-21 levels respectively earlier in their careers.
Neither was bothered by the taunts as Rice starred and Grealish, omitted from the Euro squad, seized the chance to shine as England’s number 10 in the absence of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.
Carsley’s nerves were exposed when he mistakenly sat on the Ireland bench before kick-off, but England eased their novice manager’s anxiety in the 11th minute.
Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon, who got just one minute of playing time at the Euros, accelerated onto Trent Alexander-Arnold’s raking pass for a shot that was saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Gordon worked the rebound back to Harry Kane and his strike deflected to Rice, who planted a fine finish into the top corner from 12 yards.
Rice took the diplomatic approach as he refused to celebrate the goal, instead opting for a placatory gesture that suggested he wanted to bury the hatchet over his England switch.
Playing with far more freedom and imagination than they could muster under Southgate, England struck again in the 26th minute.
After Alexander-Arnold and Kobbie Mainoo exchanged passes, Grealish capped a flowing move, meeting Rice’s cutback with a fine finish into the bottom corner from 10 yards.
There was no hiding Grealish’s delight as he celebrated in front of England’s supporters and put his fingers in his ears to suggest he wasn’t bothered by the Irish abuse.
England had to knuckle down more in the second half as Ireland found some momentum, but they were never in danger of blowing the lead as Carsley’s audition got off to the perfect start.


Klopp celebrates ‘school reunion’ on return to Dortmund dugout

Updated 07 September 2024
Follow

Klopp celebrates ‘school reunion’ on return to Dortmund dugout

  • “It was like a school reunion,” Klopp told Sky Germany, adding “it’s what I always dreamed of: that we’d meet again in life and just have a good time together”
  • Dortmund also said goodbye to defender Mats Hummels

BERLIN: Former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp said his return to the club’s dugout in Saturday’s testimonial match was “like a school reunion,” nine years after his last match as club coach.
Dortmund bid farewell to team stalwarts Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukas Piszczek, with each captaining a side featuring several club legends as well as current manager Nuri Sahin.
Blaszczykowski’s side, coached by Klopp, won 5-4 in front of 82,000 fans at a sold out Westfalenstadion.
“It was like a school reunion,” Klopp told Sky Germany, adding “it’s what I always dreamed of: that we’d meet again in life and just have a good time together.
“It’s like coming home. There are so many great memories. It’s nice to see the fans again.”
Klopp spent seven years as Dortmund coach, winning two Bundesliga titles, one German Cup and taking the team to the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley, where they lost to archrivals Bayern Munich.
Klopp, who stepped down as Liverpool boss at the end of last season citing exhaustion, is yet to return to coaching, having said in July “as of today, that’s it for me as a coach.”
The coach poked fun at the aging players, saying “we had a lot of excess weight in attack, midfield and defense today.”
Dortmund also said goodbye to defender Mats Hummels, who left the club for Serie A side Roma in the summer.
Hummels, who played 508 games for Dortmund, was one of only a few current players to take the pitch.
He said afterwards “it’s a mix of joy and sadness.
“I’ve spent a lot of my football life here.”


Liverpool ‘colossus’ Ron Yeats dies aged 86

Updated 07 September 2024
Follow

Liverpool ‘colossus’ Ron Yeats dies aged 86

  • The ex-Scotland defender was part of the Liverpool side that won the Second Division title under Bill Shankly in 1962
  • He had been living with Alzheimer’s disease in recent years

LONDON: Former Liverpool captain Ron Yeats, who led the club to their first FA Cup and two top-flight titles, has died aged 86, the Premier League side announced on Saturday.
The ex-Scotland defender was part of the Liverpool side that won the Second Division title under Bill Shankly in 1962 and went on to win the old First Division twice, the FA Cup in 1965 and the Charity Shield three times.
He had been living with Alzheimer’s disease in recent years.
“Liverpool FC is mourning the passing of legendary former captain Ron Yeats,” read a club statement. “In the words of Bill Shankly, a ‘colossus’ in club history.


“The thoughts of everyone at LFC are with Ron’s wife, Ann, all of his family and his friends at this incredibly sad time.
“Flags across club sites will be lowered to half-mast today as a mark of respect.”
Yeats was signed from Dundee United in July 1961 by Shankly, who invited journalists to “take a walk around him, he’s a colossus” at the 6ft 2in (1.87 meter) defender’s unveiling.
Yates took over as captain within six months and went on to make 454 appearances over more than a decade at Anfield.
His record 417-match run as Reds skipper was only broken by Steven Gerrard in the last decade.
He left to become Tranmere’s player-manager for three years, followed by a brief spell in the United States before returning to Anfield in 1986 as chief scout for two decades.
Yeats also won two caps for Scotland.


Frustrating farewell for Suarez as Uruguay held by Paraguay

Updated 07 September 2024
Follow

Frustrating farewell for Suarez as Uruguay held by Paraguay

MONTEVIDEO: Luis Suarez bade a frustrating farewell to international football on Friday as Uruguay were held to a 0-0 draw by Paraguay in South American 2026 World Cup qualifying.
Suarez, 37, announced on Monday he was stepping down from international duty after a glittering 17-year career for Uruguay that saw him finish as the country’s top scorer with 69 goals from 143 appearances.
But the former Barcelona and Liverpool star, who now plays in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, was unable to add a 70th goal to his international tally in Friday’s farewell game at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
Despite enjoying 65 percent possession, Uruguay were unable to find a way through a dogged Paraguay defense in a disjointed match littered with some 24 fouls.
Suarez, whose career at international and club level was dogged by controversies such as his ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, was one of four Uruguay players to be shown a yellow card in a fractious encounter.
The result leaves Uruguay in second place in South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying tournament with 14 points from seven games, four points behind leaders Argentina.
Colombia can leapfrog over Uruguay with a victory over Peru in Lima later Friday.
The top six teams in the South America standings qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in North America with the seventh-placed team advancing to a playoff.


Saudi players arrive in China ahead of World Cup qualifier

Updated 06 September 2024
Follow

Saudi players arrive in China ahead of World Cup qualifier

  • The Green Falcons face China on Tuesday in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 tournament, following a disappointing draw against Indonesia

DALIAN: The Saudi national team arrived in the Chinese city of Dalian on Friday ahead of their World Cup qualifier there next week.
The Green Falcons will face China on Tuesday night at the Dalian Suoyuwan Football Stadium, in the second game of the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The Saudi squad wasted no time as they immediately began their preparations on Friday evening with a training session overseen by head coach Roberto Mancini. The players who participated in Thursday’s match against Indonesia took part in recovery training, while the rest engaged in general training exercises.
The previous day in Jeddah, Indonesia held the Saudis to a surprise 1-1 draw in the opening game of the third round of qualifiers. It was a case of two points dropped to the lowest-ranked team in Group C, not least because Salem Al-Dawsari had a penalty attempt saved with 11 minutes remaining.
Indonesia might be Asia’s most improved team of late, bolstered by the naturalization of several Europe-based players, but were nonetheless ranked 133 in the world, 77 places below their hosts.
The Saudi squad was greeted on arrival at the airport in Dalian by Jaber Rashid, a representative of the Kingdom’s embassy. The Saudi Arabian Football Federation president, Yasser Al-Misehal, thanked the embassy for the warm welcome and assistance it has provided to the team.