Chaos and confusion erupted on Wednesday as Morocco defeated Argentina 2-1 in their opening match of the men’s Olympic football tournament.
The game, held in Saint-Etienne, ended in dramatic fashion with a disallowed equalizer for Argentina and a stadium cleared of spectators due to crowd disturbances.
Argentina thought they had secured a 2-2 draw when Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of added time. However, celebrations were cut short as bottles and plastic cups were thrown from the stands and several spectators invaded the pitch. The referee, who had not yet signaled full-time, halted the match.
The teams exited the field, but it wasn’t until two hours later that they returned to complete the remaining minutes in an empty stadium. Following a VAR review, Medina’s goal was ruled out for offside, and Morocco held on for the win.
The match’s disorder marred the beginning of the Olympic football competition and was compounded by Argentina’s poor reception from the crowd, who were largely supporting Morocco. The hostile atmosphere followed recent controversies involving the Argentina team, including accusations of racist chants after their Copa America victory.
Argentina, aiming for their third men’s Olympic football gold after 2004 and 2008, fell behind 2-0 due to a brace from Soufiane Rahimi. Rahimi’s first goal came at the end of a fine move set up by Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi during first-half stoppage time. Rahimi then converted a penalty in the second half after Ilias Akhomach was fouled.
Javier Mascherano, Argentina’s coach and a key figure in their previous gold medal wins, had hoped to include Lionel Messi among the overage players permitted in the squad, but Messi did not participate. The notable players for Argentina were Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez and Benfica defender Nicolas Otamendi.
Simeone, son of the former Argentina star Diego Simeone, scored to pull one back for Argentina in the second half. Medina’s subsequent goal in the 106th minute was disallowed, denying Argentina a chance to salvage a point.
In other Group B action, Iraq and Ukraine are scheduled to meet later in Lyon.
In Group C, Spain began their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan at the Parc des Princes. Marc Pubill scored for Spain just before halftime. Uzbekistan equalized with a penalty converted by Eldor Shomurodov, but Sergio Gomez scored the winner for Spain shortly after the break. Egypt and the Dominican Republic ended in a goalless draw.
Later in the day, hosts France will face the United States in Marseille in Group A. Despite failing to include Kylian Mbappe, Thierry Henry’s team aims for a medal. In the same group, New Zealand secured a 2-1 win over Guinea with Ben Waine scoring the decisive goal.
