Crowd trouble forced the first football match of the Olympics to be suspended for nearly two hours amid chaotic and worrying scenes, with the game eventually completed in an empty stadium.
Morocco had been 2-0 ahead against Argentina, who pulled a goal back and were pushing for an equaliser. Cristian Medina then appeared to have made it 2-2 in the 16th of what had been 15 scheduled minutes of injury time at the end of the second half.
After the resulting crowd trouble, play finally resumed after a lengthy delay with no fans present, and with VAR having ruled out Argentina’s equaliser, Morocco secured a controversial 2-1 victory.
Here’s how the chaos and confusion unfolded…
Immediately after Medina looked to have made it 2-2, a number of cups and bottles were then thrown at the celebrating Argentina side before what appeared to be a flare landed near the players and coaching staff.
A number of fans in Morocco colours also ran on to the pitch, with some being escorted off the pitch by stewards.
Riot police moved to the side of the pitch and the referee immediately took the players off the pitch.
The fans inside the stadium in Saint Etienne were told to leave the ground and a message on a big screen said: “Your session has been suspended please make your way to the nearest exit.”
It was unclear whether the match had been classed as finished, but it was then revealed the final three minutes would be played in an empty stadium with no fans present.
Before the match could be played to a finish, it was announced that Argentina’s potential equaliser had actually been ruled out by a video assistant referee decision that showed a player was offside before Medina scored.
The players had gone off the pitch at 16:05 BST, and they then came back to warm up at 17:45 before the match could resume at 18:00.
Immediately the referee checked to see if the ‘equaliser’ should stand via a pitchside monitor and, as expected, the ‘goal’ was disallowed.
Play resumed just after 18:00 for the last three minutes, and with neither side scoring further, Morocco won the match 2-1.
Both Morocco goals were scored by Soufiane Rahimi, one just before half-time and then a penalty early in the second half as they looked to begin their 2024 gold-medal bid with a win.
Argentina pulled a goal back through Giuliano Simeone, the son of Atletico Madrid manager and former Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone.
But, after all the drama, it was Morocco who took the three points.
Argentina won the men’s Olympic football tournament in 2004 and 2008 and ex-Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, who was a part of the winning squad for the second of those successes, is managing the team in 2024.
Mascherano’s side will now need to get positive results against Iraq on Saturday and Ukraine on Tuesday to have a chance of finishing in the top two in the group and advancing to the quarter-finals.
A statement from the tournament organisers said: “The football match between Argentina and Morocco at the Saint-Etienne Stadium was suspended due to a pitch invasion by a small number of spectators.
“The match then restarted and was able to conclude safely. Paris 2024 is working with the relevant stakeholders to understand the causes and identify appropriate actions.”
