Ugly scenes as Uruguay players brawl with Colombia fans

Colombia's 1-0 win over Uruguay in the semifinals of the Copa America was marred following a brawl in the stands between Uruguay players and Colombia supporters following the end of the game.

Things were already heated between players from both sides but it then spilled over to the stands where video captured Uruguay players getting into confrontations with Colombia fans with Darwin Núñez front and center.

In an on-pitch interview, Uruguayan center-back José María Giménez said the reason players went into the stands was due to Colombia fans throwing things and threatening the players' families.

"I know they want to cut you off," Giménez said to the interviewer. "Please be carefuel because the families are in the stands. They stormed all our families, a certain sector of Colombia fans and they won't let us speak on the microphone.

"I'm going to say it now because I know I can because if not they'll cut you off. This is a disaster. This is a disaster. Our family is in danger. We had to get on the top of the stands to rescue our loved ones with newborn babies. It was a disaster. There was not a single policeman. Officers popped in after half an hour. It was a disaster. And we were there facing the consequences for our people."

Giménez went on to say that this was happening during all the matches and urged for organizers to do better as it was putting families in danger.

For their part, CONMEBOL put out a general statement regarding the incident.

Given the scenes of what transpired, it was a rather weak response from the federation.

Darwin Núñez wasn't the only Uruguayan player involved. So too were Ronald Araujo and Federico Valverde.

There is undoubtedly going to be punishment for the players involved. How long they'll be remains to be seen especially if the justification is they were only trying to protect their families. With what Giménez said, CONMEBOL will also have plenty to answer for.

Despite losing to Colombia, Uruguay still have to play a third-place game against Canada, likely without a number of their players if the bans are handed out ahead of the match.