Copa Chaos: Colombian Soccer President Arrested on Battery Charge

The president of the Colombian Football Federation and his son were arrested on charges of battery during the chaos at the Copa América Final.

Jail records show that 71-year-old Ramón Jesurún Franco — the head of the country's soccer federation and vice president of CONMEBOL, the South American soccer body that organized the sold-out match between Colombia and Argentina at the Hard Rock Stadium — and 43-year-old Ramón Jamil Jesurún were arrested on charges of battery on an official or employee.

The duo were booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center around 4:20 a.m. Monday, where they remained as of 3 p.m. on Monday.
Colombian media outlet Publimetro reports that Jesurún and his son got into an altercation with stadium guards. Ticketless fans had stormed the gates, caused mayhem and injury, and delayed the start of the match by more than an hour.

The Miami-Dade Police Department said there were 27 arrests and 55 ejections at the property.

The Jesurúns were allegedly involved in a violent altercation with multiple security guards who were trying to keep people from a media-gathering area after midnight following the end of the match.

According to an arrest report obtained by Local 10, the duo grew angry at a security guard when he asked them to step back and placed his hand on the younger Jesurún's chest to "guide him back." The report alleges that the elder Jesurún shoved the guard before his son grabbed the guard's neck and punched him.

When additional guards stepped in, the Jesurúns allegedly fought them as well.

The guard with whom the pair initially fought was hospitalized at Jackson North Medical Center in North Miami Beach, according to the report.