Marcelo Bielsa Credit: Herculez Gomez via X Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa blasted Copa America organizers Friday for poor security, logistics and field conditions during the event.
FoxSoccerBy Arthur Weinstein on

Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa went on a rant Friday at a media conference, criticizing Copa América organizers for poor security and field conditions during the tournament.

After a reporter asked Bielsa if he worried that Uruguay players would face sanctions for their role in a brawl after their semi-final loss to Colombia Wednesday night, Bielsa went off.

“The only thing I can tell you is that the players reacted the same way any human being would,” Bielsa said (in a translated article by ESPN’s Lizzy Becherano). “If you see what happened happen and there’s [no other process to escape] and they are attacking their girlfriends, their mothers, a baby, their wives, their mothers — what would you do?”

For those who missed it, the scene at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium turned chaotic after the match when Uruguayan players climbed into the stands and brawled with Colombian fans, who had been harassing family members. Fox Sports cameras captured the melee, and other videos quickly surfaced on social media.


Uruguay’s captain, José María Giménez, criticized local police after the fight, saying there was no security.

“There was not a single policeman. … It was a disaster,” he told Fox Sports.

Bielsa also added to the chorus of criticism from other players and coaches complaining about field conditions.

“They’ve said that the pitches are in perfect condition and all the lies they have said here, doing a press conference to say that the pitches are perfect and you see how the grass patches won’t work,” he said. “And they said the training facilities are perfect, but Bolivia couldn’t train and I have pictures to prove that it’s all lies, this is a plague of liars,” Bielsa added.

“The Americans won’t tell you, ‘I’ll give you a perfect pitch,'” Bielsa continued. “They’ll tell you, ‘I’ll give you a pitch put together three days ago,’ and the joints between grass patches don’t fit together.”


This is only the second time CONMEBOL, the South American football federation, has held Copa América in the United States.

Uruguay faces Canada Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in the tournament’s third-place match.

[ESPN.com]

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Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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