Olympic soccer gets off to a chaos and violence as Morocco fans crowd on the field against Argentina

Morocco fans stormed the field in protest of the late goal scored by Argentina in the first match at the Paris Olympics men’s soccer tournament.

SAINT-ETIENNE France (AP) Saint-Etienne, France- – The Olympic football championship began with an explosive and chaotic start on Wednesday, with Morocco’s shocking win of 2-1 against twice gold-medallist Argentina.

The outcome is only a small the beginning of the story, following an eerie conclusion to the game in Saint-Etienne the game was suspended for two hours as the angry Morocco fans rushed to the pitch and hurled bottles into the stands to protest against a late goal scored by Argentina at the end of 16 minutes extra time.

The tense and bizarre incident was a source of confusion about whether the match was completed or had been paused. The crowd was instructed to leave the venue, but the players remained in the site and returned to their pitch for three minutes of extra time, in the midst the empty stadium.

Just before the game began, Cristian Medina’s disputed goal was denied by VAR because of offside. Morocco was able to hold on to the victory.

Argentina’s soccer federation announced that it had made an official demand to the FIFA, the world’s ruling body FIFA in order to “take the necessary regulatory measures for such a serious event.”

“Paris 2024 is working with the relevant stakeholders to understand the causes and identify appropriate actions,” an official spokesperson for Paris organizers said.

Morocco fans reacted with fury after they believed that Medina’s goal was denying the team a crucial victory against one of the international soccer’s strongholds.

The objects were tossed and the invaders of Morocco fans were beaten by security personnel on the pitch at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard after Medina appeared to draw the game at 2-2.

There were pictures of Argentina players looking nervous as the alleged flare was thrown on the field. Cups and bottles were scattered across the field when the match was stopped.

Initial reports suggested to be the case that full-time was not blown. FIFA’s website even declared the game to be over.

After an hour of the incident, officials at the stadium confirmed that the match was not over and said VAR will review whether or not the goal was valid.

The players eventually returned to the field after a lengthy wait and began warming up prior to the game being able to be completed. After warming up, players from both teams sat on the field within the mostly empty stadium as an official watched the footage. He gave a brief overview to Argentina as players on the Morocco bench shook their hands.

The game continued for around three minutes following the restart until the last whistle was blow.

Morocco had lead the game by 2-0 prior to Argentina’s comeback. Giuliano Simeone was the first to score in the second half. Medina’s strike caused chaos.

The game was broadcast on cafes across Morocco which is a country where pride has grown since the country reached the semifinals of 2022’s World Cup. In a record-breaking heatwave tea-drinking crowds yelled at the televisions, and watched with awe as the crowd swarmed around the field.

Zak Eddakir who is 28 years old, hails from Rabat said that the reaction of fans was due to soccer’s significance in Morocco and the natural displeasure over a draw, as well as the notion that a decision by a referee could result in the end of a game.

“In football, it’s normal,” he added. “When you see something like that, it’s really hard for supporters. Here, football is life. Even the king supports it.”

The hairdresser Khadija Seffany streamed into the street to hug her neighbors and friends after Morocco took the victory. She initially believed that the delay in determining the goal as offside indicated that the officials were hoping for Argentina to win since Morocco is an Arab country. Every game throughout the Olympics will be vital she said.

“Here, we’re one of the best in the world. We drink football. We eat football,” Seffany declared.