After the referee blew for full time, fans stormed the pitch and objects were thrown at players as chaos erupted in the French eastern city. (AP)
The Argentina squad consisting of the likes of Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez lost 1-2 against a game Morocco side as the first day of the footballing action at the Paris Olympics went down in infamy after fans invaded the pitch, protesting Argentina’s equalizer which forced he match to be suspended before resuming after 2 hours.
Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi had scored both goals for the Atlas Lions, first in the 45+2 mins and then again from the penalty spot to double his side’s lead. Giovanni Simeone would pull one back for Argentina but the La Albiceleste couldn’t find another goal till the 16th minute of added time when it looked like Cristian Medina had equalized for the 2008 Olympics gold medal winners. But it was not to be.
Fans would then invade the stadium while bottles and objects were thrown at the Argentina players which forced the officials to suspend the match for the time being. After order was restored in Saint-Etienne and the teams had left the field, they discovered that the match had not been completed but suspended by officials.
🚨 Moroccan fans invaded the pitch and threw bottles to Argentine players after Argentina’s goal. They also set off fireworks near the Argentine bench.
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) July 24, 2024
The teams re-emerged into an empty stadium about two hours later, with the match scheduled to restart at 7:00 p.m. local time so the final seconds could be played.
After the match restarted, the equalizing goal for Argentina was disallowed for offside which meant that they went down to Morocco in one of the most chaotic matches played in the history of the Olympics.
📺❌ The moment Argentina’s goal was DISALLOWED due to offside.
Morocco therefore won the match 2-1 against Argentina… 🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/8dVEyRkahA
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) July 24, 2024
Argentina coach Javier Mascherano would term the whole fiasco as a circus. “The biggest circus I have ever seen in my life,” he said after the match.
“Unbelievable,” Argentina superstar Lionel Messi would write on his Instagram.
In another match, Spain defeated Uzbekistan 1-2 at the Parc des Princes in western Paris with Marc Pubill and Sergio Gómez scoring for the Euro 2024 winners while Eldor Shomurodov pulled one back for the Uzbeks.
“Unbelievable 😳” – Lionel Messi on Instagram after the Argentina-Morocco match at the Olympics was restarted and Argentina’s goal was taken back for offsides, resulting in a win for Morocco. pic.twitter.com/E1f6iJXBYm
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 24, 2024
The honor of kicking off went to Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov, who played for Italian side Cagliari in Serie A last season and had scored 40 goals for his country before this match. The 29-year-old Shomurodov passed the ball back to a teammate and then applauded. FIFA president Gianni Infantino met players before the game.
Argentina, playing without Messi in these Games, also got the ball rolling against Morocco in Saint-Étienne at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium. It is nicknamed Le Chaudron (The Cauldron) for the fervent atmosphere created by passionate supporters of the local club.
Security was set to be much higher outside the same stadium on Wednesday night, when Israel played Mali in Group D amid ongoing tensions in Gaza.
Eight football matches were scheduled for Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony. The rugby sevens also had 12 matches Wednesday with Australia playing Samoa at Stade de France, the national stadium.
(With agency inputs)
