Uruguay Players And Colombia Fans Fought In The Stands After Their Tense Copa America Semifinal

The Copa America final is set. After Argentina punched its ticket on Tuesday night with a 2-0 win over Canada, Colombia and Uruguay went head-to-head in Charlotte on Wednesday. It was billed as potential classic and lived up to the hype, as Jefferson Lerma scored a goal in the 39th minute off of a James Rodriguez corner kick to give the Colombians a 1-0 win.

The game itself got tense early on, which is not unusual for high-profile Copa America games. And just before the half, Daniel Muñoz got a red card that meant Colombia had to scratch and claw for the game’s final 45 minutes. Things were chippy throughout, and after the game, some players and staffers got into it on the field.

That had nothing on what happened in the stands. While it’s unclear what sparked things, a collection of Uruguayan players were not happy with Colombian fans. There was some beer thrown, there were players going into the stands themselves, and Liverpool forward Darwin Núñez threw punches.

Again, it’s unclear what led to things popping off like this, because while emotions ran high during the game, it never exactly seemed like players felt compelled to run into the stands and start fighting opposing fans. We’ll keep you posted if any information comes out about what sparked things.