The 2024 Olympics began with an upset as African contingents, Morocco, stunned Argentina in a chaotic opening match in Saint Etienne, France.
The Atlas Lions went into the game as underdogs, battling against Argentina, whose senior side have been on a prolific form since the 2022 World Cup.
The Albiceleste won the 2022 World Cup, and added the 17th Copa America title to the collection two years later in the United States. Basking under the shadows of the all-conquering senior side, the U23 were expected to follow the footsteps of their seniors by going all the way to clinch the trophy in France.
However, it was a disappointing start to the campaign as their opponents Morocco ran out with a shock 2-1 victory in Saint Etienne.
Surprisingly, Morocco got off the mark, forcing the South American giants to trail by a lone goal, a few minutes after kickoff. Al Ain forward, Soufiane Rahimi opened the scoring for the team after five minutes.
The regulation time ended 2-1 as Argentina fought back in the added 15 minutes of injury time to level terms through a stoppage-time equaliser from Cristian Medina but the goal was later chalked off for an offside in the buildup amid a chaotic end.
Morocco fans attack Argentina players:
As the match neared the end, it descended into chaos.
Viral footage on social media showed Morocco fans taking to the pitch before the end of the game to attack Argentina players following Medina’s equaliser after the 15th minute of additional time which was later cancelled.
The fury of the Moroccan fans has been linked to the decision of the referee to add a ludicrous 15 minutes after the regulation time. Some Morocco fans claimed the referee, who is identified as Glenn Nyberg from Sweden, was siding with Argentina.
A Morocco fan, Khaled Charfaoui wrote, “The man of the match Glenn Nyberg !!!!
Morocco did not face Argentina but the referee !!
Anyone telling did Argentina needs 15 minutes regarding its game all time of the matche!!!!!”
Qumaima Jackey wrote, “Player number 12 of the Argentine team he added 15 minutes as if it was another extra half. It is a shame for this referee.
Another fan, German, blasted Glenn Nyberg for the ludicrous decision to add the 15 minutes, adding that Morocco have been robbed. He wrote, “Argentina just got gifted 15 minutes of extra time vs Morocco for literally no reason and the referee didn’t whistle until they got one final chance and of course, they scored to equalize. Even in the Olympics, they cheat. Morocco were robbed.”
It is believed the grievances of the fans led to the pitch invasion. Argentina players were attacked in the process. A short footage shared below shows an Argentine player being hit by a missile reportedly thrown by one of the irate Moroccan fans.
Due to the pitch invasion, the match could not continue. Security operatives had to battle to restore calm before the players were called out to continue with the game after almost two hours of delay.
After the restart, Cristiana Medina’s goal, which contributed to the chaos, was ruled out for offside following a VAR check with Morocco’s narrow 2-1 lead restored.
Morocco held onto the slim lead throughout the remaining three minutes of the game which was played in an empty stadium as the fans of both teams were asked to vacate the stadium following the chaotic pitch invasion.
2024 Olympic chaos: Lionel Messi reacts to the chaotic match
Argentina and Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi, took to his social media to post an emoji, expressing shock at the match outcome for Argentina and the scene in Saint Etienne. He wrote, insolito,” translating as ”unusual.”
Messi confirmed he will not partake in the Olympics because he just finished participating in the 2024 Copa America. However, the iconic footballer must have hoped to see the country’s contingent fly past Morocco but the reverse happened.
The win has seen Morocco join Iraq at the top of Group B with 3 points. The Atlas Lions will hope to continue winning when they take on Ukraine in the next match while Argentina take on Iraq in their second match.
