Contentious Copa semifinal ends with ugly scenes

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Liverpool star Darwin Nunez and other Uruguay players were involved in a brawl with opposition fans, which erupted after its 1-0 Copa America semifinal defeat to Colombia on Wednesday.

Television footage showed Uruguay striker Nunez unleashing a flurry of punches at Colombian supporters after jumping into the stands at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, following an ill-tempered game.

Uruguay central defender Jose Maria Gimenez said players had leapt into the melee out of concern for the safety of family members and loved ones watching the game.

"This is a disaster. Our families are in the stands, there are little newborn babies. There was no police and we had to defend our families," the Atletico Madrid player said.

"I hope those who are organizing this are a little more careful with the families in the next matches, because this is a disaster.

"Every game it's been happening, because there are people who don't know how to handle a couple of drinks."

The overwhelming majority of the spectators in the crowd were supporting Colombia, but there was no segregation between them and their Uruguayan counterparts.

While punches were thrown, several Uruguay players climbed into the crowd, seemingly to protect them, with Nunez prominent among them.

The fighting continued for several minutes until police finally intervened.

A group of around 100 Uruguayan fans remained in the stadium, long after the rest of the fans had left.

Ugly scenes also broke out on the field after the final whistle, with players and staff from both teams involved in a large melee in the center circle following Colombia's victory.

It was a contentious match that included seven yellow cards and one red.

In front of an overwhelmingly pro-Colombia crowd of 70,644 that filled the stadium with yellow jerseys and flags, Uruguay fell behind for the first time in the tournament.

In the 39th minute, James Rodriguez's corner kick was headed in from short range by Jefferson Lerma, who out-jumped Gimenez to score his third international goal and second of the tournament.

Rodriguez has six assists in the tournament — triple the total of any other player.

Daniel Munoz received a yellow card from Mexican referee Cesar Ramos in the 31st minute for a reckless slide tackle on Maximiliano Araujo, and Colombia played a man short for the entire second half after Munoz was ejected in first-half stoppage time after receiving a second yellow for elbowing Manuel Ugarte in the stomach.

Columbia, though, held on to reach the final, where it will meet defending champion Argentina on Sunday at Miami Gardens in Florida.

Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo said he and his team had been rewarded for its positive approach to the game.

"We took the lead, the risk, and we were even brave. When we were down one, we kept two strikers, and that is an act of courage," he said.

It is the first time since winning its only Copa title as host in 2001 that Colombia has reached the tournament decider. In doing so, it extended its unbeaten streak to a team record of 28 games, one more than its run from 1992-94, and the longest current unbeaten streak in men's international soccer.

Lionel Messi's Argentina will be seeking a record 16th Copa title on Sunday, looking to join Spain from 2008-12 as the only countries to win three straight major championship titles.

Before that, however, Uruguay will play Canada in the third-place playoff match in Charlotte on Saturday.

Agencies