An Argentinian loses two hours after the final whistle in the Olympic opener
The Football Tournament at the Olympics Gets Off to a Chaotic Start: Argentina Believes it Secured a Draw against Morocco. But the Game in an Empty Stadium was Suddenly Resumed for a Few Minutes.
20 minutes of extra time, almost two hours interruption and a crazy video evidence: The Olympic football tournament laid down a chaotic and memorable start. Over four hours after the kick-off, favorite Argentina lost eventually with a score of 1:2 (0:1) against Morocco, after initially celebrating a 2:2 draw.
Cristian Medina believed he had saved a point for Argentina with his supposed header goal in the 16th minute of extra time. There was confusion about whether the game had already ended or was only briefly interrupted. On the video screens in the stadium, it was indicated that the game had been suspended, and spectators were advised to leave. Fans, as well as numerous observers, assumed the game had been officially ended.
Both teams went to their locker rooms, but numerous Moroccan spectators among the 35,000 fans stormed onto the field in anger and protest against the Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg. Spectators threw objects, stewards tried to get the fans back onto the stands.
Resumption of Play after a Two-Hour Pause
However, after a long game interruption, both teams found themselves back on the field, and the stadium was now empty. Nyberg watched the scene at the supposed 2:2 again at the sideline on a monitor - and then called offside. The goal did not count, and the game continued for a few more minutes - but Argentina failed to score again.
And so, Morocco managed to pull off a major surprise against the Argentinians, who had Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) and Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica Lisbon) among their ranks. The team coached by Javier Mascherano, who had won the Olympics as a player in 2004 and 2008, only turned things around in the closing stages.
After a double strike from Soufiane Rahimi (45.+2 and 51./Penalty), Giuliano Simeone (68.) also scored the equalizer - the son of Diego Simeone, the trainer of Atletico Madrid, had only recently come on as a substitute. The Argentinians missed several good opportunities, and then referee Nyberg gave them an XXL extension - and Medina celebrated a supposed equalizer with several goalpost hits. The game was then resumed and the goal was taken back.
Meanwhile, favorite Spain started the Olympic football tournament with a win. The U23 team of the newly crowned European champions among the senior teams won in Paris with a score of 2:1 (1:1) against Uzbekistan. The Spaniards, who had Alex Baena and Fermin in their starting lineup, both European champions, had little trouble with the Uzbekis. For the Spaniards, Marc Pubill (29.) and the former Dortmund player Sergio Gomez (62.) scored, Eldor Shomurodov scored a penalty (45.+3) for the equalizer.
In the other games, Egypt and the Dominican Republic drew 0:0, New Zealand defeated Guinea with a score of 2:1.
Despite the chaos, the Olympic Soccer referee, Glenn Nyberg, decided to resume play after a two-hour pause. Argentina thought they had secured a draw against Morocco due to Cristian Medina's header, but the goal was later disallowed during the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris.
