Olympia-Circus leaves Argentina speechless
Has the Olympic soccer opener been cancelled now? Or just paused? Argentina scores an equalizer against Morocco a quarter of an hour into extra time, but it must be carefully reviewed. After that, chaotic scenes unfold. The World Champion feels like it's at a "village fair".
After the "disgrace" of Saint-Etienne, Argentina's coach Javier Mascherano has sworn his team on for the rest of the Olympic football tournament. "I told the boys that we now have to look forward and try to get the six points to qualify for the quarterfinals, and that all this should be filled with energy and anger towards what's coming up," Mascherano said after the chaotic 1:2 (0:1) against Morocco in the opening match.
"It's a shame that such a thing happens and poisons the tournament. Something like this wouldn't even happen at a village fair," grumbled the Olympic champion of 2004 and 2008. "It's disgraceful." Mascherano spoke of the "biggest circus I've ever seen". Both sides had actually decided not to continue playing, but to consult the FIFA World Council.
But what had really happened? The Argentinians believed they had saved a point with a supposed goal by Cristian Medina in the 16th minute (!) of extra time. But this later disallowed last-minute goal caused only chaotic confusion. Angry Moroccan fans threw objects and then stormed the field in protest, while both teams believed the game was over and went to their locker rooms. Even the official Olympic live ticker first noted "end of play", End of the game, but then also "interrupted" (interrupted) four minutes later.
Two hours after the bizarre scenes, both teams appeared again on the field, in front of now empty stands. The game was to be continued - but experienced FIFA referee Glenn Nyberg first consulted the VAR. And decided, according to video images, that Medina's goal did not count due to offside. Nyberg let another three minutes play, and then it was finally over - over four hours after the kick-off.
"The annoying thing is that the game was interrupted," Mascherano said: "If you want to check something, you should do it right after the incident." Besides the Olympic spirit, the organization must also meet the standard of the tournament, and that's unfortunately not the case right now." Argentina faces Iraq in Group B on Saturday in Lyon, and then plays the group stage finale against Ukraine. Second place would qualify for the quarterfinals.
The Argentinians are demanding consequences for the incident and have filed a complaint with FIFA. The Argentinians demanded that the Disciplinary Commission of the World Association take action regarding the incidents. It was a "serious event".
Mascherano expressed his disappointment about the chaos during the Olympic soccer match against Morocco, stating, "It's a shame this happens at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, not even a village fair would tolerate such incidents." Argentina, being an Olympic champion in soccer, aims to qualify for the quarterfinals in Paris, as they prepare to face Iraq in their next match.
