July 24th 2024.
Argentina faced a tough defeat in their first group game against Morocco, with a final score of 2-1. But what started as a regular football match quickly turned into a chaotic mess, leaving the players and coaches furious with FIFA and Olympics officials. The game, which was supposed to kick off at 2pm, ended up lasting over four hours due to crowd trouble at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne.
In the 16th minute of injury time, Morocco scored what appeared to be an equalizer, causing wild celebrations from the players and fans. However, this was short-lived as the players were bombarded with cups and bottles, and a flare even landed near the dugout. The chaos escalated when Morocco supporters ran onto the pitch, leading to the intervention of French riot police.
The situation was so out of control that the Swedish referee, Glenn Nyberg, decided to take the players off the pitch. A message on the big screen instructed the fans to leave the stadium, and the game was suspended. But to everyone's surprise, the players were brought back out to finish the last three minutes of the game in an empty stadium.
During the break, which lasted over an hour, it was revealed that Morocco's goal had been disallowed by the VAR for offside. Argentina's head coach, Javier Mascherano, could not hide his frustration and was heard saying, "The biggest circus I've ever seen in my life."
It was a disappointing and chaotic end to the game, and Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, who was not playing at the Olympics, expressed his disbelief on Instagram. He wrote, "Unbelievable," after witnessing the farcical scenes.
This was not the first time Argentine athletes faced a hostile reception at the Olympics. It all started with Enzo Fernandez's video, where he and his teammates were seen singing a racist song about France after their win in the Copa America final. The offensive chant, which references France's players being "all from Angola" and includes a transphobic remark about Kylian Mbappe, has been previously sung by Argentine supporters during the 2022 World Cup.
The national anthem of Argentina was booed before their game against Morocco, and in the Rugby Sevens, their players were whistled at as they walked onto the field at the Stade de France. Santiago Alvarez, a member of the Rugby Sevens squad, expressed his surprise at the hostility but also acknowledged the passion of French fans. "The same thing happens in Argentina, the French are very similar to us in that sense, they are very passionate. It's one more thing. But well, we have to focus on ourselves," he said in an interview with TyC Sports.
The chaotic and hostile environment created by the fans overshadowed what could have been a thrilling football match between Argentina and Morocco. The players and coaches were left disappointed and angry at the officials, but they also had to deal with the backlash of their own fans' inappropriate behavior.
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