In a thrilling encounter that saw fans invade the pitch and the contest being halted for nearly two hours at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, Morocco defeated Argentina 2-1 to begin their 2024 Olympic Football Tournament.
Cristian Medina of Argentina scored deep into injury time to rescue what appeared to be a 2-2 draw before fans invaded the pitch and threw objects at players as mayhem broke out.
Morocco were leading 2-1 with a brace by Al Ain forward Rahim Soufiane, while Atletico Madrid’s Simeone Guiliano scored the goal for Argentina all in the second half. However, just when the North Africans thought they had won it all, an astonishing 15 minutes were added on, and Argentina equalised at death, causing angry fans to invade the pitch while others threw objects to protest the referee’s decision before the full-time whistle was blown.
It was then revealed that the match had been suspended to calm the chaos, with players being told to leave the pitch for their safety.
After about two hours later, the teams returned to the pitch to continue the final three minutes and 15 seconds of play, and the decision to rule out Argentina’s goal was then delivered by the referee after a VAR review found Medina to have been in an offside position.
Morocco now tops Group B with three points, while Iraq and Ukraine who drew 1-1 sit second and third with Argentina rock bottom.
