Why was the Copa América final delayed? Argentina-Colombia pushed back after scores of ticketless fans rush into Hard Rock Stadium

The start of the Copa América final between Argentina and Colombia is being delayed at least 75 minutes following reports of scores of unticketed fans streaming into Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla.

Authorities scrambled across the concourse to quell the flow of fans entering into the grounds.

CONMEBOL, the governing body for the Copa América tournament, released the following statement amid the turmoil:

The Sporting News is on the scene to detail what's going on at Hard Rock Stadium.

Why was the Copa América final delayed?

Thousands of fans pooled around stadium entrances in an effort to get into Hard Rock Stadium for Sunday's game, per multiple reports.

It's unclear if the entrance that was initially impacted by the alleged security breach — the southwest gate — was the only one that fans illicitly entered through. The southwest gate was soon closed amid all the chaos.

Miami-Dade County Police issued a statement condemning the "unruly behavior" of fans attempting to get into the stadium and urging the general public to abide by the rules set forth by stadium personnel. It also vowed to eject and potentially arrest any fan engaging in unruly behavior at the site.

More than a dozen armed police officers threw a credentialed man to the ground before cuffing him.

Stadium officials placed the site on temporary lockdown, preventing fans from entering into the arena for nearly an hour. However, it seems fans have slowly but surely been let into the concourses. The Athletic's Paul Tenorio reported that stadium officials are now allowing people into the stadium en masse, with or without a ticket.

Hard Rock Stadium released the following statement regarding the decision to allow ticketless fans into the ground:

In collaboration with CONMEBOL and law enforcement officers, a decision was made to open the stadium gates for a short period of time to all fans in order to prevent stampedes and serious injury at the perimeter. There was serious concern of fans being crushed in order to enter. Law enforcement and security personnel were immediately deployed throughout the stadium and surrounding areas to keep fans as safe as possible in light of this unprecedented situation."

According to ESPN's Jeff Carlisle, stadium personnel are making their rounds across the bleachers and systematically removing those without tickets from the grounds.

Fox announced that due to Joe Biden's presidential address on Sunday, July 14 — scheduled for 8 p.m. ET — the Copa América final would begin on FS1 and then rejoin on Fox after the speech is complete. It's unclear how the delayed kickoff affected that plan.

This story will be updated.