Olympic Chaos: Morocco-Argentina Match Suspended After Pitch Invasion

The first match of this first day of the Paris Olympics, pitting Argentina against Morocco, will have marked the spirits. While the Atlas Lions were leading 2-1, the Albiceleste equalized in the 16th minute of added time. This equalizing goal sparked the anger of some supposed Moroccan supporters who invaded the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium pitch, forcing the referee to suspend the match and invite the players to return to the locker room, without blowing the final whistle. The score at that time was 2-2.

More than an hour later, the match resumed, this time behind closed doors, without spectators. The referee of the match, after consulting VAR, canceled the equalizing goal of Argentina for offside. After a brief playing time, the referee blew the final whistle, declaring Morocco the winner 2-1. A farcical situation that did not fail to provoke a lively controversy on the Argentine side.

Coach Javier Mascherano expressed his dissatisfaction with this unprecedented situation. "They never told us they were controlling the game. The match was suspended for security reasons. At no time were we told about a review, and in fact the official website of the Olympic Games indicated that the match had ended 2-2. The referee never gave us an explanation," said the coach of the Argentine team.

And he added: "What happened on the field is a scandal. This is not a local tournament, these are the Olympic Games. How can they stop the match seven times in the second half because someone entered the field?... We won’t let ourselves be treated like today, but we have to turn the page, keep the positive points of the team and look for the two wins we need to qualify." Mascherano also revealed that one of his players was the victim of jewelry theft the day before the match, during a training session.