Unruly soccer fans disrupted an Olympic match between Argentina and Morocco on Wednesday, turning a 2-2 draw to a 2-1 win for Morocco after Argentina’s late goal scored was disallowed after video review.
The chaotic scene created shockwaves, especially with players from both teams re-emerging to finish the match in an empty stadium after a delay of about two hours.
Referees took away the equalizer from Cristian Medina, after VAR showed Argentina was offside. The teams played for three minutes and 15 seconds after VAR completed its review and disallowed the goal.
‘The biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life,’ Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said.
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Even Argentina’s biggest soccer star Lionel Messi chimed in with a one-word post on Instagram: ‘Insólito,’ which translates to unusual or unbelievable.
The underlying layers to remember here: Argentina beat France in the 2022 World Cup. Argentina also celebrated their Copa America title earlier this month with a song filled with derogatory lyrics geared toward the French team.
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Medina scored 16 minutes into stoppage time before fans stormed the pitch and objects were thrown at players during the game.
Soufiane Rahimi scored twice for Morrocco, while Giuliano Simeone is credited with Argentina’s lone goal in the match.
The venue manager told Reuters the game had been interrupted, adding that a decision about whether the match would be completed was being discussed.
The teams re-emerged just before 7 p.m. local time and warmed up a second time so the final minutes could be played.
Reuters contributed to this report.
