If it is true that the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia will have a 25-minute halftime to allow for a halftime show in the style of the Superbowlwe would be witnessing the end of South American football. To ignominiously alter the rules of the game for a musical ceremony is to hand over control of continental football to the United States, not only as compensation for lifting the investigation into corruption in FIFA and the Confederations, but also to hand the organizers the money in dispute over television rights and ticket sales.
Furthermore, it is already an open secret that Alejandro Domínguez and his apostles, who have succeeded Nicolás Leoz and company in the administration of South American football, intend to enthrone the United States as the host of the 2028 Copa América, with 24 teams, copy and likeness of the Euro Cup, as a way to increase income from the competition.
A claim that comes up against the severe criticism received by the organization of this competition, clearly one of the most controversial of all time due to situations experienced off the field.
This Copa America had several peculiarities. It was played without extra time to decide ties, a measure unparalleled in major international competitions. The arguments were fallacious, such as protecting the players from high temperatures, which does not happen, for example, in the Copa Libertadores. The suspicion, which Domínguez seems to care little about, is that it was about favoring Messi because of his seniority. There were drastic economic and sporting sanctions for the coaches of the teams that came out onto the field a couple of minutes late, which increased the organization’s coffers, but distorted the nature of the competition.
The fixture design was another aspect criticised. Not only because of the ease of Argentina’s programming compared to that of other favourites, but also because, unusually for an elimination tournament with few teams, it forced matches like the Argentina-Canada semi-final to be repeated. There were no valid technical arguments to explain this modality.
The very low technological investment in the VAR, the arrangement of the cameras, the software regulatory and the chips In the game, the notable contrast with the Euro Cup was evident. Although the responsibility falls on the Refereeing Committee of CONMEBOL, it is absurd that the referees had four days of training, that there were referees without experience or qualification operating the VAR and that measures such as explaining refereeing calls were applied only to some sanctions. It was a tournament of multiple complaints and suspicions about the referees and, above all, the designations, repeating errors such as the crossing of Uruguayan and Argentine referees in the quarterfinals, a practice that seemed to have been eradicated decades ago.
There was no efficient planning or organization to control the fans in the stands, mixing rival groups of fans; the training fields were deficient and, in many cases, did not provide privacy; there were notable differences in the sheltering of Conmebol emissaries and their families in the stadiums with respect to the Federations and several teams complained about the excess of officials with incomprehensible tasks hanging around the teams.
Not to mention the presence of the Shepherd Aguero at the opening ceremony, with a religious message that did not respect the freedom of worship that a multinational tournament demands. Or the obvious errors or omissions in the television broadcasts, which contrasted with the rigor of the broadcasts at the Euro Cup.
The list is long and I could go on with factors that were more than details, but which show the ineffectiveness, the disorder and the improvisation of the event, which should set off alarm bells for next year’s Club World Cup and, above all, the World Cup, which was awarded to the United States as compensation. Not to mention if they really intend to make North America the almost definitive venue for the tournament.
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