On Wednesday, Morocco defeated Argentina 2-1 in their first game in the men’s Olympic football tournament, but only after a late equaliser for the South American side was disallowed and the last minutes were played in an empty stadium due to crowd disturbance.
Argentina felt they had escaped the Group B match in Saint-Etienne with a 2-2 draw after Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of extra time.
But, as their players celebrated, objects such as bottles and plastic cups poured down from the seats, and many people entered the pitch, prompting the referee to blow the whistle.
The players departed the field, but the referee had not blown the whistle for full-time, therefore the conclusion of the match remained unknown until the teams returned two hours later to play three more minutes in a stadium that had now emptied of people.
Following a VAR review, Medina’s goal was ruled offside, and Morocco went on to win all three points.
Stadium stewards stand by as a large screen announces about the contest’s interruption due to incidents in the men’s group B football match.
Argentina’s players were booed as they entered the pitch and throughout the national anthems by the audience, the majority of whom supported Morocco.
That greeting came after Argentina players were caught on camera screaming racist chants after winning the recent Copa America.
Argentina is attempting to win men’s football gold for the third Olympics after winning in 2004 and 2008, but Javier Mascherano’s team trailed 2-0 after a brace from Soufiane Rahimi.
Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, a Paris Saint-Germain full-back and one of the tournament’s biggest stars, set up Rahimi for the opening goal after a superb play in first-half stoppage time.
Six minutes into the second half, the reigning African Under-23 champions extended their lead from the penalty spot, with UAE-based attacker Rahimi stroking in after Ilias Akhomach was taken down.
Argentina coach Mascherano, who starred in the gold medal-winning teams in Athens and Beijing, had hoped to persuade Lionel Messi to be one of the three permitted overage players in his squad, which is normally confined to those under the age of 23.
Messi chose not to attend the Paris Games, leaving Manchester City attacker Julian Alvarez and Benfica defender Nicolas Otamendi to lead their team.
Simeone, the son of former Argentina star Diego, came off the bench to equalize midway through the second half.
Medina then thought he had preserved a point in the 106th minute, nodding in after Otamendi and Bruno Amione both hit the crossbar in a frantic few seconds of action, only for Argentina to be rejected.
Group B rivals Iraq and Ukraine meet later in Lyon.
Spain beat Uzbekistan
Spain, who won silver medals in Tokyo three years ago, began their campaign for gold with a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan in Group C at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
The Spain side had two players of their Euro 2024-winning squad, Alex Baena and Fermin Lopez, but it was Marc Pubill who put them ahead just before the half-hour mark.
Uzbekistan had chances and tied the game in first-half extra time after a foul by Pau Cubarsi, with Roma forward Eldor Shomurodov converting the penalty.
Cubarsi, the 17-year-old Barcelona phenom, was booked early on and did not return for the second half.
Sergio Gomez then had a penalty saved early in the second half, but the former Manchester City player scored Spain’s winner shortly after the hour mark, firing in from Juan Miranda’s cutback.
Egypt and the Dominican Republic tied 0-0.
The pick of Wednesday’s later games pits hosts France against the United States in Marseille in Group A, with Thierry Henry’s team looking to win a medal despite failing to sign Kylian Mbappé.
In the same section, New Zealand defeated Guinea 2-1, with Ben Waine of Plymouth Argyle scoring the winning goal.