Paris Olympics 2024: What happened During Morocco Vs Argentina Match (image-instgaram/afaseleccion)
The Paris Olympics 2024 kicked off on Wednesday marking the beginning of an exciting international sporting event. The men’s football tournament which began yesterday witnessed an unprecedented start as Morocco shocked two-time gold medalists Argentina with a 2-1 win.
However, the Saint-Etienne crowd had to witness some chaotic scenes before the dramatic win. The game was stopped for two hours following crowd trouble and a last-minute minute-equaliser.
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Argentina vs Morocco was the opener in Group B and the match began at 2 pm at Stede Geoffroy-Guichard.
Morocco took a 2-0 lead before Argentina halved the deficit through Giuliano Simeone, son of the Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone, in the 68th minute. However, the La Albiceleste couldn’t find another goal till the 16th minute of added time when it looked like Cristian Medina equalized the Moroccans. But it was not.
Fans invaded the pitch while bottles were thrown at the Argentina players which forced the officials to suspend the match for the time being. At first, confusion peaked, leaving it unclear whether the game was finished or suspended.
After a prolonged delay, the players returned to the field and ruled out Cristian Medina’s goal after a VAR review.
The match restarted, with the equalizing goal disallowed for offside, Argentina went down to Morocco in one of the most chaotic matches played in the history of Olympics.
The gold medal winners in 2004 and 2008, however, were not at their best despite lining up with recent Copa America winners Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi and Geronimo Rulli.
After chaotic scenes, Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said he had never witnessed such a circus after a pitch invasion. He also conveyed his disbelief at the situation’s handling.
Mascherano also criticized the delay in the VAR decision and the subsequent play of the final three minutes, arguing that it disrupted the game’s momentum.
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However, despite the chaos, the Argentina coach encouraged his team to focus on their upcoming Group B fixtures against Iraq and Ukraine.
