Colombia federation president, son arrested
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Colombia’s soccer federation president and his son were among 27 people arrested during the crowd control issues that broke out at the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia, police said Monday.
Ramon Jesurun, 71, and his son Ramon Jamil Jesurun were detained and charged after the event Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami-Dade police detective Andre Martin told The Associated Press.
Both men are facing three counts of felony battery on an official after being accused of fighting multiple stadium security guards. They were released from custody on Monday.
Arrest records said both men tried to go onto the field through a tunnel where media was gathering after the match. They were stopped by security, and the police report said they “became irate” at the delay. A verbal altercation eventually turned physical with a guard placing an “open palm” on Ramon Jamil Jesurun’s chest to “guide him back” and the younger Jesurun grabbing the guard “around his neck” and pulling him to the ground before throwing “two punches that impacted” the guard, the report said.
The federation said in a statement Tuesday that stadium security kept most of the Colombian delegation from going on the field for the awards ceremony. The federation said the elder Jesurun moved forward to intervene after his son was restrained by security.
“As the governing body of Colombian football, we regret what happened and offer apologies to the organizers, the host country and the people who were affected,” the statement said in Spanish. “For his part, President Jesurun regrets the events, which should never have occurred and which were the result of his paternal instinct to protect his son and his family.”
Ramon Jesurun has been president of the Colombian soccer federation since 2015 and is a vice president of CONMEBOL, South American soccer’s governing organization that puts the Copa America tournament together.
The organization said in a statement it was disappointed about the scene in which countless fans entered the stadium without tickets and “tarnished” the event. The game was delayed for more than an hour as authorities worked to control the situation, eventually deciding to let some fans in without going through security checkpoints.
“In this situation, CONMEBOL was subject to the decisions made by the Hard Rock Stadium authorities, according to the contractual responsibilities established for security operations,” the organization said. “In addition to the preparations determined in this contract, CONMEBOL recommended to these authorities the procedures proven in events of this magnitude, which were NOT taken into account.”