Argentina coach slams ‘circus’ as chaos descends on Olympic soccer opener
By Andrew McNicol and David Close, CNN
(CNN) — Argentina thought it had leveled its Olympic soccer opener against Morocco in the dying seconds on Wednesday – before its goal was dramatically ruled out and a pitch invasion caused the final three minutes to be played in an empty stadium after a nearly two-hour delay.
It was hardly an auspicious opener for the Paris Summer Games, with Argentina coach Javier Mascherano calling the disorderly scenes “the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Soufiane Rahimi scored either side of half-time to put Morocco 2-0 up at at Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, before Argentina’s Giuliano Simeone pulled one back in the 68th minute.
The chaos kicked off in the final moments of a lengthy added time, when Argentina’s Cristian Medina headed home in the 106th minute to apparently tie the game at 2-2 – sending Argentina players and fans into raptures.
Match broadcasts showed some celebrating Argentina players ducking to avoid objects being thrown by fans toward the pitch, while some Morocco supporters entered the field.
“The players were taken off after the goal for their safety,” the official Olympics.com live blog said, noting the match was interrupted before the final whistle blew.
Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) official website said the goal was being checked by the video assistant referee (VAR) for a possible offside. The live blog later noted the game would resume “behind closed doors.”
Medina’s equalizer was eventually chalked off, and the players remained in the locker rooms while fans were cleared from the stadium.
Nearly two hours later, the teams reemerged to play out the remaining three minutes and 15 seconds in front of empty stands as Morocco held on for a 2-1 victory.
“It’s the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life,” Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said after the game, according to Reuters.
“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.”
The former Liverpool and Barcelona star said neither side wanted to play the final remaining minutes after fans threw projectiles at Argentina players.
“If there is offside in Medina’s goal let the game go on with the momentum we have, I don’t think the game should be played for three minutes after an hour and a half,” Mascherano said
“What happened on the pitch was a scandal. It’s not a neighborhood tournament, it’s the Olympics.”
CNN has reached out to the IOC and soccer’s world governing body FIFA for comment.
Men’s soccer at the Olympics is played by under-23 teams, with three overage players allowed in each squad. While most of Argentina’s World Cup-winning players, such as Lionel Messi, aren’t competing in Paris, stars including Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez and veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi are in the squad.
The match was one of two opening events at the Games. The Olympic opening ceremony will be held on Friday.
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