Colombia national team head coach Nestor Lorenzo said Hard Rock Stadium’s security breach impacted his players ahead of their 2024 Copa América final defeat to Argentina on Sunday night, labelling the situation “anxiety-inducing.”
Hours before kick off, fans without tickets to the game broke through the southwest gate of the venue, causing many to be tackled and apprehended by police and security personnel. A stadium security guard confirmed to ESPN that the southwest gate had been closed because of a breach, before the entire venue went into lockdown.
“Imagine, from the locker room we were trying to communicate with family members, with friends, to see if they were in trouble or not, it was overwhelming.
So that was chaotic. We tried to keep the team calm, but there was anxiety,” Lorenzo said after the match.
“Imagine the day’s schedule to play a final, everything goes minute-by-minute, breakfast, lunch, the team talk, the departure from the bus, the arrival and then you have to say: ‘No, we have to wait half an hour, no, 45 minutes, no, an hour.’
“Everything became uprooted. I repeat, it happened for both teams. It’s a complaint, but not a cry.”
After fans breached the gates, pre-game warm-ups ended abruptly as players were forced off the pitch and into the locker rooms. The game eventually began 75 minutes behind schedule.
“They warmed up, got cold, warmed up again then a longer half-time,” Lorenzo added.
“Weird things, for both sides but the team with less experience feels it more. There is no need to make a complaint or anything, but I said that this could have an impact on the physique and generally the tension is felt more by the person who has less experience in these types of events.”
