The chaotic circumstances surrounding Argentina's defeat to Morocco in the men's football competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games left a sour taste in the mouth of many Argentines, not least Lionel Messi.
Moments after the match, the Argentina captain described the incidents as ''Unbelievable'' in a post on his official Instagram page.
He added a "flushed face" emoji, suggesting surprise or a deep sense of embarrassment.
His former teammate and current coach of the Argentine Olympic team, Javier Mascherano said "I can't explain what happened. We spent about an hour and a half in the dressing room where they never told us what was going to happen.''
Argentina recovered from two goals down to score what they thought was the leveler, in 16th of an initial 15-minutes of injury time at the end of the second half.
A section of fans in the stadium then invaded the pitch, forcing referee Glenn Nyberg to halt the game as both sets of teams retired to the dressing room.
Stewards attempt to shield players from angry fans who invaded the pitch
Play resumed after an hour with no fans present, but with more controversy. The first order of business was the determination of the legitimacy of Christian Medina's goal for Argentina. In the end, VAR ruled out Argentina's leveler, as Morocco secured a controversial 2-1 victory.
Here's how the chaos and confusion unfolded...
- Immediately after Medina looked to have made it 2-2, a number of cups and bottles were then thrown at the celebrating Argentina side before what appeared to be a flare landed near the players and coaching staff.
- A number of fans in Morocco colours also ran on to the pitch, with some being escorted off the pitch by stewards.
- Riot police moved to the side of the pitch and the referee immediately took the players off the pitch.
- The fans inside the stadium in Saint Etienne were told to leave the ground and a message on a big screen said: "Your session has been suspended please make your way to the nearest exit."
- It was unclear whether the match had been classed as finished, but it was then revealed the final three minutes would be played in an empty stadium with no fans present.
- Before the match could be played to a finish, it was announced that Argentina's potential equaliser had actually been ruled out by a video assistant referee decision that showed a player was offside before Medina scored.
Latest Stories
-
I fasted and prayed for days – Ama K. Abebrese recounts how she got ‘Beast of No Nation’ role
16 mins -
Societe Generale Ghana unveils “Home Sweet Loan” mortgage product
20 mins -
Rebuttal to article on ECG’s compliance with the Cash Waterfall Mechanism
27 mins -
Money lost through fraud cases in financial sector increased by 7% in 2023 to hit GH¢88m –BoG
37 mins -
Not all packaged water is wholesome – Water Resource Engineer
44 mins -
NDC demo against EC: About 20k people expected to participate in V/R – NDC Regional Secretary
52 mins -
UBA’s REDTV premieres ‘13 Kinds of Women’ live on YouTube on Sept. 19
53 mins -
Water conflicts in Africa surge by 153% over five-year period
57 mins -
Akufo-Addo reaffirms commitment to supporting public-private enterprises
1 hour -
Illegal mining: Very soon we’ll see half human beings walking around – Pathologist warns
1 hour -
Amerado announces second edition of ‘My Motherland Concert’
1 hour -
Guinness Ghana DJ Clinic educates DJs in Accra on business strategies
2 hours -
Sebastian Coe, Kirsty Coventry and five others file to contest IOC Presidency
2 hours -
NDC, NPP members clash at Gomoa West over DRIP machines commissioning
2 hours -
Guinness Ghana DJ Awards Pub Fest 2024 held in Accra
2 hours