A fan invasion in the opening match of Olympic football between Argentina and Morocco on Wednesday caused chaos, with the Argentines eventually beaten 2-1 following a VAR review after play was suspended with the score tied at 2-2.
Argentina’s Cristian Medina scored deep in injury time to salvage what looked like a 2-2 draw. But the decision ruling out the goal was delivered about two hours after play was suspended when the teams re-emerged on the field to finish the game in an empty stadium.
The teams played for three minutes and 15 seconds after VAR completed its review and disallowed the goal.
After order was restored in Saint-Etienne and the teams had left the field following the fan invasion, they discovered that the match had not been completed but suspended by officials. The venue manager then said the game had been interrupted and that a decision on whether the match would be completed was being discussed.
The teams re-emerged just before 7pm local time and warmed up a second time so that the final minutes could be played.
The gold medal winners in 2004 and 2008 were not at their best despite lining up with recent Copa America winners Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi and Geronimo Rulli.
Soufiane Rahimi put Morocco ahead after Achraf Hakimi set him up from the right following a superb passing move in the final seconds of the first half. Rahimi doubled the advantage and netted his second from the penalty spot early in the second half before Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for Javier Mascherano’s side in the 68th.
Medina then found the net 16 minutes into stoppage time before fans stormed the pitch and objects were thrown at players as chaos erupted in the eastern French city. Two sprawling saves, a shot against the crossbar and then the follow-up header also hit the bar before Medina finally nodded the ball over the line.
But what followed after around a couple of hours was sheer heartbreak for the reigning world and Copa champions.
In another game, Euro 24 champions Spain overcame a determined and dangerous Uzbekistan to begin their campaign with a 2-1 win, thanks to Sergio Gomez. The Manchester City midfielder also created his side’s opener in the closely-fought game.
Uzbekistan were solid on their Olympics football debut, out-matching Spain in the first half and fully deserved to enter the break level with their illustrious opponents, courtesy of an Eldor Shomurodov penalty restoring parity after Marc Pubill gave the Spaniards a lead.
The Uzbeks initially overwhelmed Spain whose tentative start to the game reflected their limited time at training.
Pubill’s strike was against the run of play, but Gomez’s winner came just moments after he had watched his penalty brilliantly saved by rival goalie Abduvohid Nematov, as the second half featured a rejuvenated Spanish side living up to their reputation as one of the favourites for the gold medal.
Uzbekistan didn’t fade completely though and saw an injury-time VAR penalty check waved away as tey kept pressing for a second equaliser.
Captains only
Only captains will be allowed to speak and discuss decisions with the referee during the Olympics, Fifa said on Wednesday following the rule’s first implementation at last month’s European Championship.
Fifa is encouraging the adoption of the measure by competition organisers globally after Uefa extended the new approach to all of its competitions to facilitate clearer communication. “Without referees, there’s no football. Protecting match officials and ensuring they are treated with respect is fundamental for the future of the game,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said.
Written with Reuters inputs