CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Some Uruguayan fans are returning to Bank of America Stadium for a third-place game for Copa America on Saturday.

The game comes in the heels of a contentious semifinal between Colombia and Uruguay at the stadium Wednesday that ended in a brawl. 

Colombia defeated Uruguay 1-0 and after the match concluded some Uruguay fans fought with Colombian supporters before several players from Uruguay got involved. A video showed Uruguay player Darwin Núñez hit a Colombian fan. 

CONMEBOL, the governing body of soccer in South America and organizer of the Copa America, condemned the acts of violence and is looking into whether disciplinary action is needed for those involved. 

Paula Montes, a Uruguayan and fan of the Uruguay national team, attended Wednesday’s match. She sat among Colombian fans and didn’t have an issue with them. 

However, she said her family members sitting in different sections told her Colombian fans insulted them throughout the game. 

Montes said when it was time to take her grandmother out of the stadium, she felt unsafe as the Colombian fans outnumbered them, and she said there wasn’t enough security to turn to for help. 

In regard to the brawl, she said she didn’t look to see who started the fight. 

However, she said when she visited with Uruguayan players Thursday, they said they couldn’t believe they had to jump into the stands to protect their families. 

Montes plans to return to the stadium on Saturday to watch her team face Canada for the third-place spot, and she doesn’t anticipate any issues. 

“The difference is the people, the difference is the teams. We don’t have any issues or anything I can think [of]. It’s going to be another game,” Montes said. 

She said some Uruguay fans can become aggressive after they drink. However, in this scenario Uruguayans were a small percentage of the fans who attended the game. 

Montes said there wasn’t enough security to handle more than 70,000 fans at the stadium.

“They [knew] it was 70,000 people coming in, no matter what country, what team,” Montes said. “You talk to control 70,000 people. They’d be drinking all day before during and after.”

The Uruguay team released a statement Friday afternoon stating the reaction of players was not justified but understandable. It said players became involved in a moment of desperation and nervousness due to a lack of security and a small number of Uruguayan supporters in the section where the altercation took place. 

“Given these events and the aforementioned lack of security, the attitude of the players was inevitable and natural,” the team stated. 

The team said that the brawl and with the support of authorities, they evacuated those involved. 

Montes, who leads a Facebook group connecting Uruguayans in North Carolina, said several fans plan to continue supporting their team from the stands on Saturday.

“We are going to repeat what we did Wednesday, We grill before for sure, in a park, and have as much fun as we can, and then we are coming to this brewery to meet again and walk to the stadium so we are really excited to support them,” Montes said. 

Uruguay faces Canada at 8 p.m. today at Bank of America Stadium. 

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the match is being well-staffed by officers and security personnel and that the community’s safety is at the forefront of its planning. 

Tepper Sports and Entertainment, which owns the stadium, could not immediately be reached to comment on the brawl or its plans for today’s match.