‘Don’t speak!’: Uruguay's Marcelo Bielsa condemns U.S. & Copa América organizers for POOR CONDUCT

A fiercely contested 1-0 triumph over Uruguay in the semi-final guaranteed Colombia's place in the Copa America final. Jefferson Lerma's goal made all the difference in the 39th minute; yet, Daniel Muñoz's suspension in the stoppage time of the first half led Colombia to face a stressful ending. Colombia kept in the game despite being down to ten men, therefore creating an exciting final match against the World Champions and defending Copa America champions, Argentina. Given both sides are in great form right now, the final looks to be an interesting game. Uruguay will take on Canada in the 3rd place match of the Copa America 2024. 

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Uruguay manager bursts on CONMEBOL and the USA for the poor organization of the Copa America

Manager of Uruguay Marcelo Bielsa has attacked United States and CONMEBOL on the inadequate Copa America organisation. Held in the United States, the Copa America features a final match between Argentina and Colombia set for Sunday night.

Having lost their semi-final game against Colombia, Uruguay is scheduled to play Saturday night for third place versus Canada. Bielsa has voiced his discontent with the way the competition is run, though.

Uruguay's players engaged in a fight with Colombian supporters in the stands following events in a section where players' families and children were present following their semi-final loss.

Before the game against Canada, Bielsa bluntly attacked the administration of the event, labelling it as unprofessional in a news conference He also expressed worries on the state of the security plans and the pitches. According to an ESPN quote, Marcelo Bielsa said:

 "One has to speak thinking about all the threats he will receive if he speaks," an angry Bielsa said in a prematch news conference on Friday. "So, the only thing I can tell you is that the players reacted the same way any human being would.

“If you see what happened happen and there's [no other process to escape] and they are attacking their girlfriends, their mothers, a baby, their wives, their mothers -- what would you do?”

"Are you asking if there's going to be sanctions to the ones that went to defend?" he said. "It's a level of complicity, because the questions also act as a way to accomplice, I don't know if all of you think the same way, if the question you ask wouldn't be made by someone else, but this is what you journalists should be saying, not what I should be saying, with the risk of opening my mouth.

“When you see that there's an overreaction, when you see a violent action, of course no one is going to be in favor of a violent reaction. But the first thing you have to see is what are they reacting to? And if there was any other way to do it differently, and you all know this, but you want us on this side to open our mouths about it so it's not you who point what happened and then are affected in any way.”

Bielsa asserted that his players deserved apologies, emphasizing, 

"We are in the United States, the country of security."

The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) also criticized the lack of security in the stands, attributing the players' reactions to an "unjustified but humanly understandable" situation.

"This incident occurred in a setting where Uruguayan fans were significantly outnumbered. Most were families, and security measures were inadequate," the AUF stated.

Uruguay will face Canada for the bronze medal for the Copa America on July 14, 2024.