Thousands of Argentina fans took to the streets of Buenos Aires in the early hours of Monday to celebrate the national team’s Copa América final victory against Colombia. For some, however, it ended in tragedy: one man died before the match had started, and six people were arrested after pockets of the crowd got rowdy.
Hundreds of fans gathered at the Obelisk to wait for the game to start. Initially scheduled for 9 p.m., it was delayed as a ticketing meltdown at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami ended in crushes and huge queues. The match did not kick off until 10:22 p.m.
A 29-year-old man climbed the “A” in the giant BA sign at the base of the Obelisk, reportedly to wave an Argentine flag. When he got to the top, he started jumping, lost his balance, and fell to the ground. He died instantly.
The man ignored instructions to come down from the sign, and the police were waiting for support from the fire services to get him down at the time he fell, according to Buenos Aires City’s security ministry.
The game ended at 1:10 a.m. Monday with an Argentine victory after Lautaro Martínez scored during the second half of extra time. Thousands of people gathered at the Obelisk and the surrounding area to celebrate. Six fans were arrested for refusing to move off the road as police attempted to let traffic through after 4 a.m.
The celebration was peaceful until 4 a.m., when some fans opened one of the doors to the Obelisk and started throwing objects at police, according to a BA City Security Ministry report.
Fans then set fire to two traffic police motorbikes and several dumpsters, and shattered the windows of near-by shops, the report says. They also broke into a cellphone shop and stole historical items from traditional coffee shop La Giralda. Thirteen officers were injured, one with a deep cut on his leg and another with an injured wrist.
Police ended up clearing the area with a water cannon — but it wasn’t enough to dissuade some of the most dedicated revelers from hanging out around the Obelisk until gone 6 a.m.