Darwin Nunez and several teammates entered the stands and became embroiled in a brawl with Colombia fans inside Bank of America Stadium after Uruguay’s heated 1-0 loss in the Copa America semifinals Wednesday.
Nunez, in particular, appeared incensed as he punched at least one fan while the crowd hurled beverages and debris at the Uruguayan players.
Uruguay players have entered the stands and a fight has broken out between fans and players pic.twitter.com/XRbte2ibiy
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 11, 2024
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
Scuffles between the two sets of fans had already broken out before the players arrived on the scene. The vast majority of the 70,000 people in attendance were supporting Colombia.
Uruguay defender Jose Gimenez said the players were trying to defend their family members in the crowd.
“Let me say something before they cut you off because they won’t let us speak into the microphone, they don’t want me to say anything about what’s going on, but this is a disaster,” Gimenez said on the official broadcast, according to ESPN. “Please be careful, our families are in the stands, there are little newborn babies. It was a disaster; there was no police, and we had to defend our families.
“This is the fault of two or three people who had a few too many drinks and don’t know how to drink.”
Roughly 100 Uruguayan fans and federation staff members remained on the field after police restored order and the Colombian supporters had left the stadium, according to Steve Reed of The Associated Press.
Uruguay is scheduled to play Canada in the tournament’s third-place game Saturday.