Crowd chaos, a delayed kick off and a Lionel Messi injury headlined the Copa América final as Argentina defeated Colombia to win a record-breaking 16th time.
There are still growing calls for answers following the chaos at the Copa America Final at Hard Rock Stadium Sunday. Those calls are coming from county officials and fans who were denied entry, including Jackie Martinez.
She was one of thousands of people looking forward to their once-in-a-lifetime experience. But her dream turned into a nightmare.
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Martinez said she spent more than $4,000 on tickets so she, her husband and her parents could watch the Copa America final, but like so many people, they never made it inside.
Thousands of people without tickets rushed through the gates and even climbed through air conditioning vents to get into the stadium. Police arrested more than two dozen people.
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Now, Martinez is suing Hard Rock Stadium and CONMEBOL (the South American Football Confederation) for $50,000.
“The unlawful entry of individuals into the arena was a foreseeable consequence of Defendant's failure to implement adequate crowd control measures, security protocols, and ticket verification processes," the lawsuit filed Monday read in part.
“Ms. Martinez was devastated, her family was devastated,” said Irwin Ast, who represents Martinez and her family. “It's pure negligence.”
Soccer
NBC Miami reached out to CONMEBOL and Hard Rock Stadium for comment on the lawsuit but did not hear back Tuesday night.
However, on Monday, Hard Rock Stadium posted on X it will work in partnership with CONMEBOL to address individual concerns. Ticketmaster policy states only event organizers can determine whether refunds will be allowed.
In a memo to county executives, Miami-Dade County Commissioner JC Bermudez requested a meeting about why security failed at the stadium.
“It is clear that we were not prepared for it,” Bermudez said.
Hard Rock Stadium released another statement on Tuesday, stating in part that it worked with CONMEBOL, CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) and local law enforcement on security leading up to and during the tournament.
The statement was in response to CONMEBOL's message on Monday.
"CONMEBOL was subject to the decisions made by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities, according to the contractual responsibilities established for security operations," the statement read in part. "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."
"We regret that the acts of violence caused by malicious individuals have tarnished a final that was ready to be a great sports celebration," the statement concluded.
Ast said Hard Rock and CONMEBOL have to make things right.
“There's something Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and you can't sell people tickets and deny them entry,” Ast said. “They bought these tickets years ago. This was a hardship, a sacrifice, this was like their vacation.”
Regarding refunds, StubHub said in a statement, "For unique issues like this, we tend to follow the approach of the event producers and primary ticket providers but we are still waiting for information from them. Any customers who have contacted us will be notified when more information is made available."
