Before Sunday’s final, Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo had already complained about Colombian popstar Shakira performing a half-time show, meaning the interval would last for 25 minutes rather than 15.
Conmebol also issued a statement saying that only ticket holders would be allowed to enter the stadium campus before the 20:00 kick-off (local time).
But as the scheduled kick-off time approached, a statement from a stadium spokesperson said that thousands of ticketless fans had “attempted to forcibly enter the stadium”, which has a capacity of 65,000.
Footage shows fans breaching the stadium gates, climbing over perimeter walls and fencing, and even through ventilation ducts.
A stadium statement later explained that as gates were “closed and re-opened strategically”, some fans “continued to engage in illegal conduct – fighting police officers, breaking down walls and barricades and vandalising the stadium, causing significant damage to the property”.
It had become overcrowded outside the stadium, with fans waiting in 31C heat, and a joint decision was made – for a short period – to allow fans in without scanning tickets “to prevent stampedes and serious injury at the perimeter”.
“The gates were then closed once the threat of fans being crushed was alleviated,” the statement added. “At that time, the venue was at capacity and gates were not re-opened.”
Players’ families were also involved in the chaos, and Argentina coach Scaloni said afterwards: “We had to start a match without knowing where our family members were. It was very weird.”
The game ultimately kicked off more than an hour late. With there being extra time as well as the half-time show, it did not finish until 00:09 local time.