Morocco spoiled the debut of world champion Argentina in the Paris Olympics by winning 2-1 in a match with an eventful final, which included a goal disallowed by the VAR after two hours interrupted by incidents with the Moroccan fans.
After evacuating the spectators from the stadium, Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg restarted the match with the score at 2-1, after the VAR review noted the offside position of midfielder Cristian Medina in the goal that would have meant a 2-2 draw in stoppage time.
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“What happened on the pitch was a scandal,” said Argentine coach Javier Mascherano.
Medina had headed home the equalizer 15 minutes into extra time at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne. Several fans wearing Moroccan shirts invaded the pitch and others threw objects at the Argentina bench.
Nyberg ordered the players to retreat to the locker room but did not end the game. The teams eventually returned for three additional minutes.
“I don’t have an explanation for the players,” Mascherano said. “They were reviewing a play for an hour and twenty minutes. Let me continue the game, don’t stop me from continuing three minutes after an hour and a half. The game was suspended for security reasons. When we had no news, we attention to notice things.”
The Africans won with a double from Soufiane Rahimi in the 45th and 49th minutes of the Group B match. Giuliano Simeone scored for Argentina in the sixty-eighth minute.
In the same stadium where Argentina had defeated England on penalties in the 1998 World Cup, Argentina left with their heads down this time.
With three world champions in the starting line-up – goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, defender Nicolás Otamendi, and forward Julián Álvarez – Argentina faced the toughest opponent in the zone, reinforced in turn by full-back Achraf Hakimi.
From the very beginning, the whistles of the Moroccan fans – the majority in the stadium stands – predicted a difficult day for the South Americans.
Just before half-time, the African champions and surprise winners of the last World Cup by reaching the semi-finals took the go-ahead goal into the dressing room.
Although Rahimi finished the move, the mastermind was Ilias Akhomach with a backheel from the edge of the area to Bilal El Khannouss, which confused the Argentine defense. The midfielder then passed into the heart of the six-yard box, where Rahimi beat Rulli to the punch.
After the restart, Nyberg awarded a controversial penalty to Morocco for a push by Julio Soler on Akhomach, which Rahimi converted into a goal with a low right-footed shot.
In search of a reaction, Mascherano added a striker with the entry of Simeone, son of Diego, the coach of Atletico de Madrid.
Following a cross, Soler received the ball on the opposite flank and crossed it towards goal. With a goal-scoring instinct, Simeone intercepted the shot and pushed it in at the far post.
With the momentum of the discount, Argentina put Morocco against the ropes and struck with a header from Medina.
The referee initially allowed the goal, which led to an embarrassing end to the match.
Almost two hours later, the Paris 2024 organizers announced that the match would resume with empty stands and that the VAR would verify a possible offside position by Medina in the goal, which was ultimately disallowed.
On the return leg, the Argentine team did not have the strength to reverse the defeat.
Argentina, which hopes to continue its winning streak of titles in the Games over the past three years, including the World Cup in 2022 and the recent Copa América championship, now has to beat Iraq next Saturday to stay alive in the competition.
“We don’t want to be taken advantage of or made fun of,” Mascherano said. “Now we have to turn the page and look for the 2 wins we will need to qualify.”
