Colombia soccer president facing charges after Copa America arrest in Miami
MIAMI – Colombia’s soccer federation president and his son are facing battery charges after getting arrested when fans stormed the gates at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium moments before the Copa America final on Sunday.
Ramon Jesurún, 71, and his son, Ramon Jamil Jesurún, 43, spent Sunday night at a Miami jail. The father-son duo were arrested and charged with battery on an official employee.
“It was totally unfair and again, we’re humans. Anything could happen. But they started it first. It was ridiculous,” said son Ramon Jamil Jesurún after posting bail on Monday.
“This credential for me, it says ‘total access.’ And the security guard, one of those who wanted to feel important, didn’t recognize it. I insisted I could go in. And he pushed me,” said the elder Jesurún, president of the Colombian Football Federation.
Police said the father and son got physical with two security guards and a woman who was trying to intervene during the chaos at the Copa America final game between Argentina and Colombia.
Hundreds of fans stormed through the southwest gate of the stadium. Some fans jumped over fences while other climbed through air conditioning vents to get inside the game, as seen on videos posted across social media.
The Jesurúns appeared in bond court Monday afternoon, along with others who were arrested. The Miami-Dade Police Department said a total of 27 people were arrested prior to the soccer game and another 55 were ejected from stadium grounds.
Fernando Perez was one of them. He told CBS News Miami he had tickets and flew in from Houston to see the game. When he arrived, he says he got caught up in the chaos.
“At some point one of the gates got open. People started pushing in,” Perez said. “I got thrown on the ground, got tased. You know, it was horrible. I got arrested and spent 24 hours in jail for nothing,” Perez added.
Perez was charged with battery on a police officer and resisting an officer without violence.
The judge put a restraining order against Ramón Jamil Jesurún on behalf of the woman who was injured in the scuffle.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava said she was outraged by the chaos that ensued at the Copa America match, and added that an investigation is underway.
