Uruguay‘s time in the 2024 Copa América ended in ugly fashion, and not just because they lost to a short-handed Colombia squad in the semifinals.
The postgame scene between Uruguay and Colombia descended into chaos in Charlotte when a group of La Celeste players entered the stands at Bank of America Stadium and brawled with a group of Colombian fans. The charge appeared to be spearheaded by Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez, who could be seen throwing punches in the middle of the fracas.
More angles:
After defeat to Colombia, Uruguayan players entered the stands at Bank of America Stadium and began to throw punches. Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez amongst those at the forefront. pic.twitter.com/VE3unKObSa
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) July 11, 2024
Uruguay’s José María Giménez spoke to the broadcast after the incident, claiming the brawl was preceded by the Uruguay players’ families being harassed by a group of Colombia fans and urging the tournament organizers to make changes with security.
Tournament organizer CONMEBOL released a statement hours later denouncing the violence, but saying little else.
The violence was preceded by a frustrating loss for Uruguay, which was playing for a chance to face Argentina in the final for its first Copa América title since 2011. Instead, it will face Canada in the third-place game on Saturday, and it will almost certainly be missing a few players as discipline for the brawl is handed out.
Uruguay was favored to defeat Los Cafeteros in the semifinal, but fell behind in the 40th minute on a beautiful corner kick from James Rodriguez that Jefferson Lerma headed into the net. Their hopes for a comeback were bolstered early in the second half when Colombia’s Daniel Muñoz hit Manuel Ugarte, leading to a second yellow card and leaving his team in a 10-vs.-11 situation.
Uruguay kept up the pressure and had some real scoring chances, but just couldn’t get the ball in the net by the time expired. It was frustrating, and the result was a scene that could be damaging for the team well beyond the tournament.
