The Olympic Games have not yet officially started… and we already have the first big scandal: the match between Argentina and Morocco resumed hours after everyone thought it was over.
Adding to the drama is the fact that after the players and referee returned to the field, the Albiceleste’s 2-2 goal by Medina in the 106th minute was ruled off, giving the shock win to Morocco.
All the drama kicked off after what looked to be the goal that made it 202.. At that moment, in the middle of the celebration, a firecracker went off in the middle of the crowd of Argentine players. Fortunately, it did not hit any players and no injuries were reported.
Fans entered the field
Unfortunately, this was not the only incident at St.-Étienne. As soon as the 2-2 [later rules off] was scored, there was a pitch invasion by the Morocco fans, the majority of whom were in the stands. The security forces were unable to control the spontaneous supporters who jumped from the stands.
The referee, Glenn Nyberg, decided to send the players to the locker room for safety. It looked like the game was over… but it wasn’t.
According to an official, there were still “4-5 minutes left to play”. The referee wanted to restart the match, and so did the IOC, but the players refused for their own safety.
This was not an isolated incident. In fact, the match had 16 minutes of added time in the second half because, while the ball was still in play, several fans jumped onto the pitch, causing the match to be interrupted on several occasions.
The most surprising thing was yet to come. Two hours later, Argentina’s 2-2 goal was called back after VAR ruled Amione was offside on Medina’s goal, giving the shock win to Morocco.