Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa defended his players’ involvement in the clash with Colombia fans after the Copa America semi-final match at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, before criticizing the US and CONMEBOL over the organization of the competition .
Following Uruguay’s semi-final defeat, players could be seen climbing into the stands to fight opposing fans. Darwin Núñez and Ronaldo Araújo were among those involved, while captain José María Jiménez said the players were simply trying to defend family members.
However, South American football’s governing body, CONMEBOL, has announced an investigation into the incidents, which also saw players from Colombia and Uruguay involved in an on-field confrontation after the final whistle.
“One has to think about all the threats one may receive when one speaks out,” an angry Bielsa said at a pre-match press conference on Friday. “So, the only thing I can tell you is that the players reacted the same way any human being would.
“If you see what happened happen and (there are no other survival mechanisms) and they’re attacking their girlfriends, their mothers, a child, their wives, their mothers – what would you do?”
The former manager of Leeds United attacked the media coverage of the events.
“Are you asking whether sanctions will be imposed on those who went to the rescue?” He said. “It’s a level of collusion, because questions also serve as a way to be collaborative, I don’t know if you all think the same way, if the questions you ask aren’t done by someone else. Will happen, but that’s what you journalists should say at the risk of opening your mouth, what I shouldn’t say.
“When you see that overreaction happening, when you see any violent action, certainly no one would be in favor of a violent reaction. But the first thing you have to look at is what they are reacting to.” And if there was any other way to do it differently, and you all know it, but you want us to open our mouths about this, so it’s not you who points out what happened and Then get affected in some way.”
Bielsa said his players owed an apology, adding that “we are in the United States, a country of security.”
The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) also said that there was a lack of security in the stands which led to an “inappropriate but humanly understandable reaction” by the players.
“The event took place in a context in which the proportion of Uruguayan fans was very low. Most of them were families and there were inadequate security measures,” the AUF said in a statement.
“Given these facts, the players’ behavior was inevitable and natural,” it said, though it also “strongly condemned” their aggression.
Koch criticized CONMEBOL and the US over the organization of the tournament, particularly citing the lack of security and the condition of the fields in stadiums regularly used by NFL teams.
Argentina, who will face Colombia in the final on Sunday, criticized the field conditions at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the tournament’s opening game.
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said after that game, “They knew seven months ago that we would play here and they changed the field two days before.” “It’s no excuse, but it’s not a good field. Really, this field is not suitable for these players.”
CONMEBOL defended the conditions of the grounds after criticism, saying that the process of installing temporary pitches for the Copa America began a year ago and “aesthetics may give the wrong impression.”
The eight stadiums used for the Copa America are sites for the 2026 World Cup, and renovations to larger arenas are planned over two years. For the World Cup, FIFA usually takes control of the stadiums about a month in advance.
“They have said that the pitches are in perfect condition and here’s what they have lied about in the press conference saying that the pitches are in perfect condition and you can see how the grass patches will not work. And they said that the training facilities Absolutely right, but Bolivia couldn’t train and I have pictures to prove that it’s all lies, it’s a bunch of lies,” Bielsa said.
“And then we speak – even though I’ve already said everything I promised myself I wouldn’t say – and there are threats. Scaloni spoke once, he had the courage to say that on the grass The union was not fair, which are all known mistakes.
“Americans won’t tell you, ‘I’ll give you a perfect pitch,'” Bielsa added. “They’ll tell you, ‘I’ll give you a pitch I prepared three days ago,’ and the joints between the pieces of grass don’t fit together.
“Watch yesterday’s game inside the box and you’ll see how the ball gets double-taped and it’s because of that. And the training facilities were a disaster and Bolivia couldn’t train but they said, ‘It’s OK, it’s Bolivia.’
“Then the penalty for Brazil and all the injustice to the lower divisions of the competition, they don’t say anything about it. And then you have the president of the federation accusing the referee of not giving a penalty for Brazil even though he knew it. “This is the situation for the next game, you know how it all is.”
Uruguay is set to play a third-place match against Canada at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.
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