With two days to go before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games in France, the men’s football competition is already underway. The start of the Olympic event was marked by an unusual occurrence: in Saint-Étienne, Argentina scored a goal that would have equalized the match at 90’+16’, but the game was suspended shortly after due to a pitch invasion by Moroccan fans. The official site of the event declared the match as “interrupted,” and a few minutes later, the organization announced that the match was concluded, with a score of 2-2. However, later on, the players were informed that they would have to return to the field, and Medina’s goal was reviewed by VAR, resulting in it being disallowed for offside.
As the reigning world champions and winners of the Copa América, Argentina is heavily betting on an Olympic victory and arrived in France with reinforcements, such as Rulli, Otamendi, and Álvarez, who join an under-23 squad featuring standout players like Thiago Almada or Lucas Beltrán. However, in their debut, the Argentinians were surprised by a Moroccan team led by Tarik Sektioui, a former FC Porto player.
Stronger collectively, the Africans had a two-goal advantage: Rahimi, a forward for Al Ain, scored twice at 45’+2’ and 51’. Pushed to the limit, Argentina reduced the deficit in the 68th minute, thanks to Giuliano Simeone and, in the dying moments, the South Americans celebrated the equalizer: in the 16th minute of stoppage time, Cristian Medina scored what appeared to be the final score of 2-2.
Immediately, Moroccan fans invaded the pitch and launched fireworks towards the Argentine players, which necessitated police intervention and led the referee to declare the match suspended.
More than an hour later, players were informed that they would have to return to the field, with the surprise announcement that Medina’s goal had been disallowed and that the teams would need to play an additional three minutes, during which Morocco’s 2-1 lead remained intact.
At the end of the match, Javier Mascherano, the Argentine coach, reacted strongly. “We were never told that they were reviewing anything. The game was suspended for safety reasons. They never mentioned reviewing the play. Then, without any updates, we started noticing things. The referee never explained anything to us. We don’t want to be favored, but we also don’t want to be subjected to what happened today. What occurred was a scandal. It’s not a neighborhood tournament; it’s the Olympic Games. It’s the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life,” the former midfielder vented.
If Argentina lost in their debut, Spain managed to win, but they had to endure some suffering. Against Uzbekistan, Marc Pubill put the Spaniards ahead after an assist from former Braga player Abel Ruiz, but Shomurodov equalized just before halftime with a penalty.
However, just as the game approached the hour mark and three minutes after missing a penalty, Sergio Gómez scored the goal that secured all three points for Spain. France, on the other hand, had less difficulty: with three goals in the last 30 minutes, they defeated the United States 3-0.