The opening match of the men’s Olympic football tournament at Paris 2024 between Argentina and Morocco, initially reported as a 2-2 draw, ended in unprecedented chaos and controversy at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne. The match was suspended for nearly two hours due to a pitch invasion by Moroccan fans and objects being thrown at players.Morocco had taken a 2-0 lead through Soufiane Rahimi, who scored in the 45th minute of the first half and again from a penalty early in the second half. Argentina fought back, with Giuliano Simeone reducing the deficit. The drama reached its peak when Cristian Medina appeared to equalize for Argentina in the 16th minute of stoppage time.However, after the lengthy suspension, the referee decided to review the goal using VAR. The goal was ultimately disallowed for offside, and the match resumed for an additional three minutes in an empty stadium. Morocco held on to win 2-1, securing their first Olympic victory since 2004.The incident has raised serious concerns about security at the Olympic Games and the implementation of VAR in such high-stakes situations. Argentina’s coach, Javier Mascherano, expressed his frustration, describing the situation as ‘the biggest circus I’ve ever seen’.This chaotic start sets a controversial tone for the Olympic football tournament. Both teams will now prepare for their next matches, with Argentina facing Iraq and Morocco taking on Ukraine.
Key points
- The Olympic football match between Argentina and Morocco was suspended for nearly two hours due to fan violence.
- After resumption, a VAR review disallowed Argentina’s equalizer, resulting in a 2-1 victory for Morocco.
- The incident has raised concerns about security and fair play in the Olympic tournament.
- Argentina’s coach, Javier Mascherano, called the situation ‘the biggest circus I’ve ever seen’.
Contradictions👾Initial reports stated the match ended in a 2-2 draw, but after VAR review and match resumption, the final score was 2-1 in favor of Morocco.
👾There are discrepancies in the reported duration of the match suspension, with some sources citing ‘almost two hours’ and others mentioning ‘1 hour and 40 minutes’.
