Argentinian photographer shoved by Miami police at soccer match

Diego Spairani, a photojournalist for the Argentinian TV news channel Todo Noticias, was pushed by police attempting to force him and a colleague from a stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, while reporting live before a soccer match on July 14, 2024.

The New York Times reported that mayhem broke out at the Copa América final between Argentina and Colombia, when throngs of unticketed fans attempted to enter Hard Rock Stadium in the Miami suburb, delaying kickoff for more than an hour.

Spairani told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in a written statement translated from Spanish that he and reporter Leo Paradizo had arrived at the stadium at around 6 p.m. for an interview with Argentine singer Abel Pintos, who was to perform at the match. When the journalists entered a stadium corridor, security personnel kicked them out without allowing them to explain, forcing them to a stadium exit where crowds of fans had gathered.

In Todo Noticias’ live footage, Paradizo can be seen walking toward one of the closed entrances when suddenly the gate opens and individuals start rushing in. Law enforcement and event security quickly respond, and a Miami-Dade Police Department officer can be seen pushing Spairani back from the entrance while he says in Spanish that they’re cooperating.

Spairani told the Tracker that police and stadium security attempted to cover the camera with their hands and pull on the transmission cables, before resorting to pushing the journalists to force them to leave.

In the footage, an officer appears to direct the journalists to stand in a particular location, but a stadium employee approaches and erroneously asserts that the journalists had opened the gate for the crowd, saying that they should be forced to leave.

Officers can be heard telling the journalists, “Let’s go, vamos.” Paradizo responds in Spanish, asking why they are being removed and telling the officers that they are working. Moments later, an officer can be seen pushing Paradizo toward the opened gate where staff and police are holding back the crowd. Someone then blocks the camera and Paradizo walks out of frame with the officer.

Todos Noticias reported that the journalists were ultimately not forced out of the venue and were able to continue their coverage. Spairani told the Tracker that his camera was not damaged, but the live feed was cut off.

In a post on the social platform X, Paradizo wrote that both he and Spairani are fine and that they had only wanted to show the chaos taking place at the stadium entrance, calling it a disaster. Neither Paradizo nor Spairani responded to requests for additional comment.

Another journalist, Hernán González of the South American broadcaster Torneos — which was an official broadcaster of the match — was surrounded by officers, who then lifted and forced him to the ground before handcuffing him.

A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was unaware of the incident and that no report would have been filed if the journalists had been permitted to remain in the stadium.

“Given the circumstances regarding that day, many people were detained, ejected, arrested and even unarrested in some cases,” the public information officer said. “We’re attempting to be as transparent as possible with this incident, but there were a lot of individuals who just lacked judgment that day.”

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include comment from Diego Spairani.