Sunday’s Copa America Final devolved into chaos before the match even got underway, and the wild night ended with the arrest of Ramón Jesurún, the 71-year-old president of the Colombian Football Federation, and his 43-year-old son.
The incident took place around 12:20 a.m. after Colombia lost to Argentina in extra time at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. According to the Miami-Dade Police Department arrest report, Jesurún and his son “became irate” and started to shout at a security guard. The altercation quickly escalated when a different security guard asked them to step back and placed his hand on the younger Jesurún’s chest to “guide him back.”
At that point, the Colombian soccer president allegedly stepped forward and pushed the guard. His son then grabbed the guard’s neck and punched him, according to the report. Both men are accused of fighting the officers who tried to break up the incident.
The incident is not a great look for Colombian soccer, CONMEBAL, or FIFA. Jesurún, who serves as a vice president of CONMEBAL and is also on the FIFA Council, was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami just after 4:15 a.m. on Monday. He is facing three felony counts of battery on a specified official or employee.
The Copa America Final was marred by a massive crowd breaching the gates prior to kickoff, creating a truly ugly scene. Fans even tried to get into the stadium through the air vents, and there was no control or order.
Global soccer fans tried to blame the United States for the failure, but the blame falls entirely on CONMEBAL, the South American soccer confederation, of which Jesurún is a key figure.
The incident has cast a dark shadow over Colombian soccer and the Copa America tournament, and the actions of Jesurún and his son have brought further embarrassment to the sport.
