The Copa America scheduled for June 13 to July 10 in Argentina and Colombia is in great danger due to the health situation linked to the Covid-19 epidemic and violent demonstrations.
The match won by the Brazilian team of Atletico Mineiro against the Colombian formation of America de Cali (3-1) on the night of Thursday to Friday in the Copa Libertadores was interrupted five times by tear gas used by the security forces to disperse an anti-government demonstration near the Barranquilla stadium in northern Colombia.
If this event already seems important enough in itself, it is of great concern about a month before the start of the Copa America (June 13 – July 10) organized in Argentina and Colombia.
On the one hand because the enclosure of Barranquilla must host several matches of the competition. On the other hand, because the social crisis is still as sharp as ever in Colombia. For nearly three weeks, the country has turned into violence and clashes with the police have left 42 dead and more than 1,500 injured. A situation that questions the maintenance of the Copa America even if the Colombian government intends to make it a symbol of unity.
At the moment, the holding of the competition in Medellin, Cali and Bogota and Barranquilla, where the final is to be played on July 10, seems difficult to imagine. The conservative Colombian president Ivan Duque nevertheless assured a few days ago that “the Copa will take place (…) in the two countries”, recalls AFP on Saturday. According to him, the organization of the competition “would be an important message at the moment”.
South American players and coaches worried
A day before the incidents of the game between America de Cali and Atletico Mineiro, Atletico Medellin’s games against Nacional Uruguay and Junior’s against River Playte were also impacted by social events in Colombia.
River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo, ex-player of Monaco and Paris-SG, even felt after the meeting that “it is not normal to come and play a football match in such an unstable situation, in the middle of what the Colombian people are experiencing “.
The coordinator of the Brazilian football selection, Juninho Paulista, shared his feelings on Friday and confirmed monitoring “the situation on a daily basis, in dialogue with CONMEBOL”, the governing body of football in South America.
“We are saying clearly that we do not want to repeat what happened” in Cali with the Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro, underlined the ex-world champion 2002. Ditto for the Brazilian coach Tite also announced of his “concern” when the group announced the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, matches played the week before the opening match of the Copa America, on June 13, in Buenos Aires.
During a virtual meeting on Thursday, the CONMEBOL Council only broached the subject of the Copa America indirectly, an internal source told AFP. Yet rumors were insistent in recent days on other countries ready to replace the Colombian host at short notice. Colombia “remains determined” and its desire to organize the event “has never been the subject of any doubt” for the confederation, however assured this source.
Behind closed doors and vaccination in the face of Covid-19
The health situation is the other cause of concern for this edition of the Copa America. At a time when several European countries are preparing to reopen the stands to the public, the increase in the number of contamination in Argentina and Colombia raises fears of the worst for the competition. If concern does not seem to transpire from CONMEBOL, Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez was less categorical than his Colombian counterpart.
“I don’t want to spoil the Copa America party, but I want us to be very reasonable, very careful. Like most countries in South America, Argentina and Colombia are reporting a sharp increase in case of infection with Covid-19, which puts the health system to the test, “warned the Argentine leader at the end of April.
Since then, there has been radio silence from the Argentinian authorities on the subject, busy trying to curb the outbreak of infections. In Colombia, the infection rate could even increase because of the crowds gathered at the protests.
However, the idea of organizing the Copa America behind closed doors remains a possibility. Thanks to 50,000 doses of vaccine offered by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, CONMEBOL also hopes to be able to vaccinate all the participants in the tournament and thus allow football to run its course without worrying about the coronavirus.
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