Inside the Argentina vs Morocco chaos: How both teams reacted after the match was delayed by nearly TWO HOURS following a pitch invasion in the wake of a 106th-minute equaliser – only for it to be disallowed!
The Paris Olympics kicked off with a bang on Wednesday when Argentina faced Morocco in the men’s football tournament.
On paper, it didn’t look like a particularly exciting fixture. And scheduling the match for 3pm local time on a Wednesday afternoon signaled that organizers hardly expected it to be prime time viewing.
But what followed was pure chaos.
The drama began before a ball was even kicked when Argentina’s national anthem was booed by fans inside the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne amid the racism storm surrounding Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
Morocco then proceeded to make a mockery of the odds by racing into a two-goal lead before Argentina pulled a goal back to set up an exciting finish. After several lengthy second-half stoppages, the fourth official indicated that there would be 15 minutes of added time at the end of the game.
Supporters invaded the pitch after Argentina looked to have scored a late equalizer against Morocco
Cups and bottles of water were also thrown onto the pitch as the Argentina players celebrated
The referee had little option but to take the players off the pitch until the crowd had been evacuated
Argentina’s players flooded forwards in search of an equalizer, and in the 106th minute they looked to have got their reward when Cristian Medina headed home after a goalmouth scramble.
What followed next was scarcely believable. As the Argentina players celebrated, approximately 20 fans ‘from both teams’, according to authorities, entered the pitch.
Three young fans had got onto the pitch earlier in the game to try and get selfies with their heroes, but this was a pitch invasion on a different scale.
Meanwhile, cups and bottles of water were thrown onto the pitch and a firecracker exploded near the Argentina bench.
The referee was left with little option but to take the players off the pitch for their own safety while security looked to regain some control of the crowd.
As the players went off, there was confusion about whether the game had finished or not. The majority of the crowd believed the game had ended in a draw, and many of the players also thought the match was over.
The delay would last for almost two hours as the fans were evacuated from the stadium before Swedish referee Glenn Swe Nyberg decided to bring the players back out to play the final few minutes of the match.
It was only at this point that both teams learned the equalizer had been disallowed for a marginal offside in the build-up.
The referee had been told about the offside earlier, but only revealed that the goal had been ruled out when the players came back out to resume the game.
The teams played a further three minutes before the final whistle was eventually blown over four hours after the match started, with Morocco claiming a 2-1 victory.
Explaining how the VAR drama unfolded, Morocco midfielder Yassine Kechta said: ‘When we came back onto the pitch, the referee blew his whistle, went to the VAR and told us that it was offside and therefore not a goal.
Yassine Kechta (right) claimed Morocco’s players had no idea Argentina’s goal had been disallowed during the delay of nearly two hours
Argentina coach Javier Mascharano also claimed his side had no idea their goal had been disallowed until they got back onto the pitch
‘The wait was very long, we were waiting like everyone else, we didn’t know.’
Argentina coach Javier Mascherano also revealed that his side were kept in the dark about the disallowed goal, and claimed Morocco did not want to play on once the game had been delayed.
‘The match was suspended, Morocco did not want to play,’ he said. The captain’s decision was not to play. And as time went by, different versions began to emerge.
‘What is annoying is to interrupt the match. As soon as the match ends, the action must be reviewed. At no time we are told that the goal is not valid.’
The former Liverpool and Barcelona star was furious with how things played out, adding: ‘The feeling is horrible. The truth is that never in my career as a footballer and then as a coach, have I experienced a similar situation.’
Meanwhile, Morocco’s Bilal El Khannouss expressed regret, but insisted his side had somehow remained ‘calm’ amid the dramatic scenes.
‘Things like that shouldn’t happen normally,’ he admitted.
‘Already fifteen minutes of additional time, it was really incredible. We did not feel that the wait had lasted almost two hours, but it was long.
Bilal El Khannouss (pictured) admitted the chaotic scenes should not have happened, but said his team remained ‘calm’ while it all unfolded
In the end it as Morocco’s players celebrating as they picked up a famous win in Saint-Etienne
‘We were told that we had to wait for the referee to make a decision, for the police to make a decision, that we would stop the match and then restart it by looking at the VAR. We remained calm.
‘We suffered all together, but in the end, there are three points at stake, we are very happy.’
Remarkably, no arrests were made nor injuries reported following one of the most incredible endings to a match in recent memory.
Both sets of players went through the full range of emotions, with Argentina’s jubilation at scoring a last-gasp equalizer turning to confusion and then despair, while Morocco experienced the same but in the reverse order.
In the end it was the North African nation celebrating at the final whistle, though, after somehow claiming the prized scalp of Argentina.