CONMEBOL has announced sanctions stemming from the melee between Uruguay players and Colombia fans at this summer’s Copa America.
During that incident, which occurred in the moments after Uruguay’s semifinal loss to Colombia, several Uruguay players entered the stands to confront rival fans who had begun brawling in an area close to the families of those players.
Some players were seen brawling with Colombian fans. Uruguayan players and coaches alike later defended their actions, suggesting they were acting in self-defense and shielding their families from violence.
Liverpool and Uruguay forward Darwin Nuñez, who was seen on video attempting to throw a chair into the stands, received a five-game suspension from CONMEBOL and was fined $20,000 (£15,000) for his involvement in the melee.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Betancur was issued a four-game suspension and fined $16,000. Mathías Olivera, Ronald Araujo and Josema Giménez were all given three-game bans and fined $12,000 (£9,000) each.
Six other Uruguayan players — Sebastián Cáceres, Matías Viña, Emiliano Martinez, Brian Rodríguez, Santiago Mele and Facundo Pellistri — were fined $5,000 each and the Uruguayan federation was fined $20,000.
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An official with the Uruguayan federation, Marcelo García, was banned from CONMEBOL competitions for six months. García was seen on video throwing a water bottle at Colombian fans from his vantage point in a suite.
In the days following the violent incident, many Uruguayan players expressed their concerns with the lack of security surrounding that match, concerns that were affirmed during the Copa America final in Miami, which faced widespread problems with overcrowding and security issues.
Uruguay head coach Marcelo Bielsa was among the tournament’s fiercest critics, expressing indignance at the suggestion his players should be sanctioned for their actions.
“The only thing I can tell you is that the players reacted like any other human being would,” he said.
“If you see that there’s a process to keep what happened from happening. If you see that if what happened happens anyways, and that there’s supposedly another process — an escape hatch, let’s say — and both things fail, and you see your woman, or your mother, or a baby, being attacked, what would you do? You’d ask whether they’re going to punish the people who defended themselves?”
Nunez will now miss his country’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador.
(Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
