Chaos and confusion dominated the opening game of the men’s Olympic football tournament in Paris as Morocco secured a 2-1 victory over Argentina.
The match was marked by a late equaliser for Argentina being disallowed and the final minutes were played in an empty stadium following crowd trouble.
The Group B clash saw Morocco leading 2-1 when, in stoppage time, Argentina hit the frame of the goal twice before midfielder Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of added time to level the match in Saint-Etienne. However, the equaliser led to objects being thrown onto the pitch, prompting players to be taken off for safety as Moroccan fans invaded the pitch in Lyon.
Supporters were then asked to leave the stadium, with a message projected on screens reading, “Your session has been suspended, please leave the stadium.” After nearly two hours without play, the game resumed behind closed doors with three minutes remaining, and Medina’s 106th-minute goal was disallowed due to an offside in the build-up.
The game concluded with a 2-1 victory for Morocco, thanks to Soufiane Rahimi’s double.
A statement from the tournament organisers said: “The football match between Argentina and Morocco at the Saint-Etienne Stadium was suspended due to a pitch invasion by a small number of spectators.
The match then restarted and was able to conclude safely. Paris 2024 is working with the relevant stakeholders to understand the causes and identify appropriate actions.”
“I can’t explain what happened. We spent about an hour and a half in the dressing room where they never told us what was going to happen,” said Argentina’s coach Javier Mascherano.
“The Moroccan captains didn’t want to play, we didn’t want to continue, and fans threw things at us. It’s the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Mascherano, a member of Argentina’s Olympic gold-winning squad in 2008, is the manager of Argentina’s team in 2024.
His side now needs positive results against Iraq on Saturday and Ukraine on Tuesday to have a chance of finishing in the top two in the group and advancing to the quarter-finals.
