On July 24, a fan invasion disrupted the opening match of the Olympic football competition between Argentina and Morocco, with Argentina finally losing 2-1 following a VAR review after play was halted with the score equal at 2-2.
Argentina’s Cristian Medina scored deep into injury time to rescue what appeared to be a 2-2 tie, but the decision to rule out the goal came roughly two hours after play was paused when the players returned to the pitch to finish the match in an empty stadium.
After VAR reviewed the goal and disallowed it, the teams played for three minutes and fifteen seconds.
When order was restored in Saint-Etienne and the teams had left the field following the fan invasion, they realized that the game had not been completed but had been suspended by authorities.
The venue management informed Reuters that the game had been halted and that a decision on whether the play would be finished was being made.
The teams regrouped shortly before 7 p.m. local time and warmed up once more before playing the last few minutes.
Morocco’s Early Dominance and Argentina’s Late Surge
Despite playing alongside recent Copa America champions Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi, and Geronimo Rulli, the 2004 and 2008 gold medalists were not at their best.
In the final moments of the first half, Morocco took the lead thanks to Soufiane Rahimi, who was set up on the right by Achraf Hakimi through a splendid passing maneuver.
Rahimi increased his lead and scored from the penalty spot in the 49th minute until Giuliano Simeone equalized for Javier Mascherano’s team in the 68th.
Cristian Medina scored 16 minutes into stoppage time before supporters invaded the ground and threw items at players, causing chaos in the eastern French city.
Other Group C Results
Spain defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 in their opening Group C encounter at the Parc de Princes.
Spain, which had difficulty getting started in the early stages of the match, went ahead against Uzbekistan in the 29th minute when Marc Pubill scored from close range after Abel Ruiz’s flick.
Uzbekistan tied the game immediately before halftime due to Eldor Shomurodov’s penalty after a VAR review of a Pau Cubarsi infraction.
Spain coach Santi Denia stated that Uzbekistan came as no surprise to him. We achieved our goal, but it was a difficult game, and now it’s time to improve. That is my responsibility; I must communicate more effectively.
At halftime, I informed the team that we needed to improve the ball circulation, which was what was missing. We need to enhance it. If we accomplish this, we will have more possibilities for victory.
Spain had a wonderful opportunity to regain the lead after the interval when Sergio Gomez’s penalty attempt was stopped by Abduvohid Nematov, but the Real Sociedad player redeemed himself by scoring in the 62nd minute.
Holabet News is your trusted online betting site in Singapore. Your winning journey starts here!