PARIS – The opening match of the Olympic football tournament between Argentina and Morocco was marred by chaos when fans invaded the pitch, leading to a disruption. Argentina ultimately lost 2-1 after a VAR review overturned a late goal that had initially appeared to level the score at 2-2.
Cristian Medina scored for Argentina deep into injury time, but the goal was disallowed after a two-hour delay, which occurred while the teams were off the pitch due to the fan invasion. The game resumed in an empty stadium with the final minutes played for just three minutes and 15 seconds before the decision was made.
Order was eventually restored in Saint-Etienne, but the match had already been suspended by officials. The venue manager confirmed the interruption and noted that a decision was being made on whether the match would be completed.
The teams returned to the pitch shortly before 7:00 p.m. local time to finish the game. Despite having recent Copa America champions Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi, and Geronimo Rulli, Argentina struggled. Soufiane Rahimi scored twice for Morocco—first from a superb move set up by Achraf Hakimi just before halftime, and again from the penalty spot in the 49th minute. Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for Argentina in the 68th minute, but Medina’s late goal was ruled out due to the VAR review. The match ended in chaos as fans stormed the pitch and objects were thrown at players.
In other news, Spain defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 in their opening Group C match at the Parc des Princes. Despite a slow start, Spain took the lead with a goal from Marc Pubill in the 29th minute, assisted by Abel Ruiz. Uzbekistan equalized just before halftime with a penalty from Eldor Shomurodov, following a VAR review of a foul by Pau Cubarsi. Spain regained the lead in the 62nd minute with a goal from Sergio Gomez, who redeemed himself after missing a penalty earlier in the game.
