An ugly scene unfolded after Colombia defeated Uruguay 1-0 in a Copa America semifinal Wednesday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., as Uruguay players stormed into the stands to engage with fans of Colombia.
Broadcast footage and video from inside the stadium showed a number of Uruguayan players entering the stands, with punches being thrown and what appeared to be at least one beverage being flung into the melee.
According to multiple reports, Liverpool star Darwin Nunez was among those in the fracas.
The shirtless Nunez could be seen being held back by people in the stands and then a Colombian fan appeared to strike him in the face.
It also appeared that Nunez was able to land a punch on someone in another clip.
Uruguay’s Jose Maria Gimenez said the Colombian fans had been the aggressors and were being menacing toward family members of the Uruguay team, USA Today reported.
“This is a disaster, our family was in danger,” Gimenez said. “We had to get into the stands to get our loved ones out, with small newborn babies. There was not a single police officer … and we were there standing up for our own.”
Police officers could be seen struggling to make their way into the fracas to try and contain the situation, and even when they did arrive, there were still some people attempting to push and shove.
Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa told reporters that he didn’t see what transpired after an already chippy match between the two South American nations.
CONMEBOL, the South American soccer governing body, said it was investigating the incident, per Reuters.
Sparks had already begun to fly on the pitch during a match that included seven yellow cards and one red card and players from both teams got into a shoving match after the final whistle.
Jefferson Lerma’s goal in the 39th minute was all Colombia needed to capture the win and advance to its first championship since Colombia won its only Copa title in 2001.
The victory sets the stage for Colombia to face Argentina on Sunday night in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Uruguay will face Canada on Saturday night in the third-place match in Charlotte.
