Olympics
Explained: The bizarre Argentina-Morocco opener at Paris 2024
Controversy loomed large on the football turf as Morocco fans invaded the field of play and forced a delay.
The Argentinian team looking at the water bottles thrown by Moroccan fans. (Photo Credits: AFP)
The 2024 Paris Olympic Games started on a controversial note as Morocco defeated Argentina in the first group game of Group B of men's football.
The African nation emerged 2-1 victorious against 2008 gold medalist Argentina in a match that was suspended due to a fan invasion and restarted behind closed doors.
The pitch invasion by fans interrupted play for almost two hours.
What happened in Arg v Mor- Timeline
Coming into the tournament as one of the favourites, Argentina started well in the game but was shocked by the opening goal of Souifane Rahimi putting Morocco in a 1-0 lead at the half time.
Morocco doubled their lead to 2-0 as Rahimi scored his brace after his team was awarded a penalty in the 51st minute.
After trying hard for the equalizer next, Argentina failed to get any as the stoppage time of 15 minutes was added to the regulation time.
Drama began in the 16th minute of the stoppage time as Cristian Medina scored the equalizer to make it 2-2 for Argentina. After the equalizer, Moroccan fans invaded the pitch making it impossible for the players to stay there.
Watch: Morrocan fans invade Arg v Morocco at 2024 Paris Olympics
Both teams walked off as it seemed that the game was called off.
However, the game was just suspended and not over. Following the delay of two hours, both teams were called to finish the game. After the resumption, the referee went and took a good look at the VAR screen and ruled it offside.
With just three minutes left on the clock, Argentina found it difficult to score another goal leading to a controversial upset in the first game of the tournament.
Strong reactions from Lionel Messi and Argentina's coach
Senior team captain and World Cup winner Lionel Messi was baffled by the decision and posted a story mentioning the word, 'insolito'. Insolito is a Spanish word that translates in English to ‘unusual’ or ‘uncommon’.
Javier Mascherano, Head coach of Argentina, lashed out at the decision. "The biggest circus I have ever seen in my life," Mascherano said in his statement after the match.
