Chaos and confusion prevailed on Wednesday as Morocco beat Argentina 2-1 in their opening match of the men's Olympic football tournament, but after a late score for the South Americans were rejected and the last minute was held in an empty stadium following the crowd. problem.
It took more than two hours after the late goal was ruled out by VAR.
Argentina thought they had secured a 2-2 draw in Group B in Saint-Etienne when Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of added time.
But as their players celebrated, projectiles of bottles and plastic cups fell from the stands and several spectators entered the pitch, and the referee immediately blew the whistle.
The teams left the field, but the referee did not blow for full-time and the outcome of the match was not clear until both sides finally appeared with three minutes to play. a stadium where there were no more spectators. .
Medina's goal was eventually disallowed after a VAR review, and Morocco kept the three points.
The sight of the controversial late goal shocked football pundits and most are calling for the result to be overturned before the chaos begins.
in the end they got their wish as Morocco got the full score.
One football commentator wrote on Twitter: “Argentina equalized in the 116th minute. The worst scandal in Olympic football history.
“Moroccan fans stormed in, fire flew and chaos erupted.
The Olympics are a real shame.”
Another posted: “Justice is done why did it take 2 hours. One of the most embarrassing moments in football ever”.
A EuroSport analyst at the time of the goal called for the goal to be disallowed. “Wow. I can't believe it,” he said.
It was the start of the sporting event at the Paris Games, and it was a bad day for Argentina, where players were bombed as they appeared on the field and during the national anthem, which the majority supported Morocco.
The reception comes after Argentina's players were filmed singing racist chants after their recent Copa America victory.
Argentina were looking for a third men's football gold after success in 2004 and 2008, but Javier Mascherano's side fell 2-0 after a brace from Soufiane Rahimi. .
Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, the Paris Saint-Germain winger who is one of the tournament's biggest names, set up Rahimi for the opener at the end of a fine move in the stoppage time in the first half.
The African under-23 champions doubled their lead six minutes into the second half from the penalty spot by United Arab Emirates international Rahimi. in football after the fall of Ilias Akhomach.
Argentina coach Mascherano, who played in the teams that won gold in Athens and Beijing, hoped to convince Lionel Messi to include more than three players in his otherwise limited squad. of those under 23 years of age.
Messi has opted out of the Paris game, and the biggest names in his squad here are Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez and captain Nicolas Otamendi, Benfica defender.
Simeone, son of former Argentina star Diego, came off the bench to pull one back midway through the second half.
Medina then thought he had salvaged a point in the 106th minute when he nodded after Otamendi and Bruno Amione hit the post in a frantic second, but Argentina were denied.
Group B rivals Iraq and Ukraine meet in Lyon.
Having won a silver medal in Tokyo three years ago, Spain opened their golden streak with a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan in Group C at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
The Spain team included two members of their Euro 2024-winning squad in Alex Baena and Fermin Lopez, but Marc Pubill gave them the lead before half-time.
Uzbekistan took the lead and took the lead from the penalty spot in the first half after Pau Cubarsi was fouled, with Roma striker Eldor Shomurodov converting the spot-kick.
Cubarsi, the 17-year-old Barcelona prodigy, was booked early and did not reappear in the second half.
Sergio Gomez had a penalty at the start of the second half, but the former Manchester City player scored Spain's winner just after the hour when he fired home from Juan Miranda.
Group rivals Egypt and the Dominican Republic played out a 0-0 draw.
Next Wednesday's fixture sees hosts France take on the USA in Marseille in Group A, with Thierry Henry's side hoping to win a medal despite failing to his attempt to bring in the services of Kylian Mbappe.
New Zealand beat Guinea 2-1 at the same venue with Plymouth Argyle's Ben Waine scoring the winner.
— with AFP
