Multiple lawsuits have been filed by fans against South American soccer's governing body, CONMEBOL, and the operators of Hard Rock Stadium in the wake of the chaos surrounding Sunday's Copa America final.
The complainants claim they bought tickets for the final but were prevented from entering the stadium by crowd control issues.
The first lawsuit was filed Monday by Jacqueline Martinez against South Florida Stadium LLC (Hard Rock Stadium) and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County.
A second lawsuit was filed on Wednesday by Marta Pintos, Eduardo Martínez and Nicolás Osorio against the same defendants.
Each suit seeks more than $100,000 in damages.
Sunday's final between Argentina and Colombia in Miami Gardens, Florida, was delayed by 82 minutes after fans without tickets broke through security barriers to gain entry to the venue.
Stadium staff responded by locking down the venue in an attempt to regain control. But when dangerous conditions developed, with some fans at risk of being crushed against the gates, the venue was opened and some fans were allowed in, whether they had tickets or not.
When the stadium reached its maximum capacity, the stadium gates were closed again, preventing some fans with tickets from entering.
Miami-Dade Police said there were 27 arrests and 55 ejections, while the Miami-Dade Fire Department told ESPN it responded to 120 incidents at the stadium, 116 of which were related to medical issues.
In his complaint, Martinez alleges that he bought four tickets for the Copa America final for $4,395.59.
“Despite having a valid ticket, Plaintiff was denied entry to the sporting event due to a large number of people rushing into the stadium and trespassing, resulting in overcrowding and safety concerns,” the complaint reads.
The complaint goes on to allege that “the illegal entry of persons into the stadium was a foreseeable consequence of the defendant's failure to implement adequate crowd control measures, security protocols, and ticket verification processes.”
It added: “As a result of being denied entry, Plaintiff was unable to attend the sporting event and suffered monetary losses, emotional distress and other damages.”
Neither CONMEBOL nor Hard Rock Stadium immediately responded to ESPN's requests for comment.
In a statement after the final, CONMEBOL blamed Hard Rock Stadium, saying Monday that the facility did not take into account its recommendations for the final of South America's most important national team tournament.
In response, Hard Rock officials said Tuesday that they had “exceeded” CONMEBOL's safety recommendations.
