Marcelo Bielsa defends Uruguay players after Copa America brawl

Marcelo Bielsa said: “The players reacted as any human being would have done if they saw that there was no escape or prevention and they were attacking their wife, mother, a baby.”

Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa defended his players involved in a clash with Colombian fans after Wednesday’s Copa America semi-final, saying “anyone would have reacted like that” to protect their families.

An angry Bielsa criticised tournament organisers for not doing enough to protect the families of players seated behind the Uruguay bench and he justified players taking matters into their own hands to protect their loved ones.

His side reached the semi-finals but were eliminated by Colombia via a 1-0 defeat.

He said: “You know whose responsibility it is to protect the fans in the stands. You have to ask me whether the players have received an apology from those responsible for safeguarding security,” the former Leeds United manager told reporters on Friday. He did not fear possible sanction, he added.

“The players reacted as any human being would have done if they saw that there was no escape or prevention and they were attacking their wife, mother, a baby.

“What should they do?… Nobody wants to see a violent reaction, but you have to look at what a reaction is in response to.”

Meanwhile, Canada manager Jesse Marsch has lambasted the way the tournament has been organised in the USA, from logistics, to security, to pitch quality.

Marsch, also a former Leeds boss, said: “For me, this tournament has not been professional. There are too many gaps in treatment, in the overall experience from a day-to-day perspective.

“I watched what happened after the [Uruguay/Colombia] match, and certainly I didn’t know all the details, but certainly we wouldn’t want anyone’s families or any player’s families to be put in harm’s way.

“But I know if Team Canada, if our team would have responded like this then there would be heavy sanctions, because of the treatment that we received from in this tournament the whole time.

“We’ve had our players be headbutted, we’ve had racial slurs thrown at our players – live and through social media, and not just the situation with Moise [Bombito], but the entire tournament, from opponents’ fan bases whether it’s live or in social media.

“We’ve been treated like second-class citizens. And in the entire time I’ve challenged our team to stay disciplined and stay focussed on our task at hand, and to make sure that we represent ourselves and our country.”