Charlotte (AFP) – Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa lashed out at Copa America organisers on Friday, saying they were to blame for the brawl between his players and Colombian fans following their semi-final exit.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s third-place playoff against Canada, Bielsa reacted angrily to the disciplinary proceedings opened by CONMEBOL following the violence which erupted after Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat to Colombia on Wednesday. Several Uruguay players, including Liverpool star Darwin Nunez, jumped into the stands and were seen fighting with Colombian fans after the game.
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Uruguay’s players have said they were defending family members being attacked by Colombian supporters at the Bank of America Stadium. As many as a dozen Uruguayan players are reportedly under investigation by CONMEBOL following the incident — a fact that has incensed veteran coach Bielsa.
“The players reacted like any human being would have done,” Bielsa said at a press conference on Friday. “If you see your wife, mother, sister or baby being attacked, and no one is helping, what are they supposed to do? And they are going to punish the people who came to defend them?”
Colombian and Uruguayan fans were not separated at all in Wednesday’s game. The violence flared on the final whistle after Uruguay’s defeat and continued for several minutes until police finally arrived.
Bielsa said blame for the incident should be pinned on tournament organisers for failing to ensure the safety of players’ families. “There were mothers with babies in their arms, wives and sisters being attacked. The protection of the spectator has nothing to do with the football team or the federation. You know who is responsible for that,” he said. “No one wanted to see a violent reaction. But the first thing to look at is what provoked the reaction.”
Any sanctions should not be for the footballers, but for those who forced them to act the way they did. They had no choice.
Bielsa was also critical of other organisational aspects of the Copa America, which was held in the United States and expanded to 16 teams this year to include CONCACAF nations. The Uruguay coach said playing surfaces, many of which were comprised of grass overlaid on artificial turf, had been sub-standard. Bielsa added that training pitches provided during the tournament “were a disaster.”
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