Mother Of Alexis Mac Allister Speaks On Harrowing Copa America Experience

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Silvina Mac Allister, mother of Liverpool and Argentina midfielder Alexis, was caught in the crush of fans trying to enter the Copa America final.

In a sad reoccurrence of history, planners of a major football final were woefully underprepared, leaving supporters in an extremely dangerous crush. This time it was the Copa America finals match between Alexis Mac Allister’s Argentina and Luis Diaz’s Colombia in Miami, Florida.

Supporters were told to arrive early due to the expectation of large crowds on an extremely hot and sunny day. As the crowds began to mass, organizers claimed some people without tickets attempted to enter the stadium, which prompted security forces to close gates and stop entry completely. The gates would periodically open to allow people to enter one by one, and would frequently be shut again as the sea of humanity outside began to form a crush, with several people passing out or suffering from heat-related illnesses.

Police and stadium security turned aggressive to those near the front, even at gates reserved for media and family members. The start of the match was delayed and players began to come out to usher their family members out of the crush and past security. Liverpool and Argentina midfielder, Alexis Mac Allister, was one such player. After making her way into the stadium, Mac Allister’s mother, Silvina, described the situation as “inhuman”.

“Alexis had to come out to get us in. He was worried about us. It was inhuman. He gave us a hug. We told him to stay calm and get ready to play.”

In the end, the match ended up being delated almost an hour and a half as security forces continued to bungle the situation. They eventually just opened the gates and let everyone in, choosing to check tickets once people were inside the concourses or at their seats.

Organizers and security continue to blame “unruly ticketless fans” in an eerily similar manner to what was said about Liverpool supporters ahead of the Champions League final in Paris in 2022. It is worth noting that an independent investigation after the Champions League final place fault squarely on the inadequate planning and overly aggressive tactics used by security forces rather than a scourge of ticketless supporters. Like in Paris, the fans caught in the crush were lauded for their grace and how they attempted to keep calm and order in a terrible ordeal by those reporting on the situation.