Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa has publicly hit out at the Copa America organizers and the USA in an extraordinary rant after his players clashed with Colombian fans during their semifinal defeat.

A handful of La Celeste players, including Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez and Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, fought with Colombia fans after jumping into the stands of the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

Jose Gimenez revealed after the game that his teammates climbed into the stands to protect their families, who came under attack from rival fans. The Atletico Madrid center-back also stated that this was not the first time this occurred, hinting at a lack of security problem.

Bielsa, who was asked several times about potential sanctions during his pre-match press conference for their third-place playoff against Canada, defended his players. Instead, the Argentine tactician redirected the scrutiny back at CONMEBOL, demanding they issue an apology to his players for the ordeal their families underwent.

The 68-year-old manager then went on an explosive tirade, slamming the CONMEBOL organizers, the USA as a host nation, and the quality of the pitches — or lack thereof. The pitches have been a contentious issue, with several fans noticing the lack of quality through the TV screens.

"The only thing I can tell you is that the players reacted like any other human being would," Bielsa, who became visibly frustrated the more he was asked about potential sanctions, said (as per the Athletic). 

"If you see that there's a process to keep what happened from happening. If you see that if what happened happens anyways, and that there's supposedly another process — an escape hatch, let's say — and both things fail, and you see your woman, or your mother, or a baby, being attacked, what would you do? You'd ask whether they're going to punish the people who defended themselves?

"What you should be asking me, if you had a minimum amount of sympathy, is if the players have received an apology for those who are responsible for caring for every single spectator.

"You're asking me if I'm scared of sanctions? How am I going to be afraid of a sanction that should be impossible to even happen."

CONMEBOL has opened an investigation into this matter but it remains uncertain what the outcome will be. With several 2026 FIFA World Cup matches set to take place in the United States, some have begun questioning whether the security will be up to par when football's biggest international tournament heads to North America.

Bielsa also accused the organizers of lying about the pitch quality. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni and Brazil winger Vinicius Junior also aired a similar sentiment, which Marcelo referenced.

"All of the lies that they've told," Bielsa added. "They do press conferences and say 'no, the fields are perfect, the training pitches are perfect.'… I have all the photos that show that these are all lies. This is a plague of liars. Now, I've already said everything I promised (organizers and the federation) I wouldn't say. These are all punishments coming.

"These are all errors that were known beforehand. The North Americans don't say — 'you're going to get a perfect pitch.' They tell you 'we'll give you a field installed three days ago, or (x) amount of days ago.' … The training pitches were a disaster.

"They do a press conference and say it's an optical illusion. Vinicius (Junior) can't see. That (Lionel) Scaloni shouldn't talk. That the training pitches are all perfect when we all have a collection of the (bad pitches)."

Eight of the stadiums used for this Copa America are venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. CONMEBOL pushed back against these accusations but Bielsa pulled no punches, claiming that Bolivia were unable to train adequately due to this issue.

"They've said that the pitches are in perfect condition and all the lies they have said here, doing a press conference to say that the pitches are perfect and you see how the grass patches won't work. And they said the training facilities are perfect, but Bolivia couldn't train and I have pictures to prove that it's all lies, this is a plague of liars," the former Leeds boss revealed.

"And then we speak -- even if I already said everything I promised myself I wouldn't say -- and there are threats. Scaloni spoke once, he dared to say that the union on the grass wasn't proper, which are all known mistakes."

Uruguay have one more match left to play. That is against Canada as La Celeste aim to finish third following their 1-0 loss to Colombia in the semifinals.

This third-place match will take place on Saturday. However, the focus is on Sunday's final as Argentina face Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium in the decisive fixture. Lionel Messi will be keen on winning a second consecutive Copa America title in what promises to be his final tournament in an Albiceleste jersey.