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Argentina beaten by Morocco in chaotic opener, France cruise

olympic24 July 2024 21:30| © AFP
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A fan invasion in the opening match of the Olympic football tournament between Argentina and Morocco on Wednesday caused chaos, with Argentina 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 for offside was delivered about two hours after play was suspended.

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 told Reuters the game had been interrupted, adding that a decision about whether the match would be completed was being discussed.

The teams re-emerged on to the pitch to finish the match in an empty stadium, playing for three minutes and 15 seconds after VAR completed its review and disallowed the goal.

"I don't remember something like this happening at this level, that the match is suspended for an hour and a half, warming up for 10 minutes and then play three," said Argentina manager Javier Mascherano.

"What happened on the pitch was a scandal, it's not a neighbourhood tournament, it's the Olympics."

Organisers later said they were working with stakeholders to understand the causes of the pitch invasion and determine appropriate measures.

Soufiane Rahimi scored twice for Morocco, the second goal from the penalty spot early in the second half, before Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for the 2004 and 2008 gold medallists in the 68th minute.

FRANCE CRUISE, SPAIN VICTORIOUS

Hosts France later made a good start to their tournament in Marseille with two goals in eight minutes after the hour mark and a late header from Loic Bade gave them a comfortable 3-0 win over the United States.

Captain Alexandre Lacazette sent a big crowd wild with a superb long-range effort to open the scoring before a fine strike from Michael Olise doubled the lead for Thierry Henry's side.

After the drama in St-Etienne, organisers will have been relieved that Israel's Group D opener against Mali at the Parc des Princes in Paris passed off without incident.

The 1-1 draw was played amid tight security because of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Diallo Hamidou's own goal put Israel ahead 11 minutes after the break but Doumbia Cheickna equalised for the African side with a fine header in the 63rd minute.

Earlier at the same venue, Spain beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in the opening match of Group C despite struggling to hit their stride in the opening stages of the game.

The Spaniards, silver medallists three years ago in Tokyo, took the lead in the 29th minute against Uzbekistan with a close-range finish from Marc Pubill.

Uzbekistan, cheered on by the crowd, equalised just before halftime thanks to Eldor Shomurodov's penalty following a VAR review for a Pau Cubarsi foul.

Spain wasted a golden chance to restore the lead after the break when Sergio Gomez's penalty was saved by Abduvohid Nematov, but the Real Sociedad player redeemed himself when he found the net in the 62nd minute.

"For me, Uzbekistan were no surprise," Spain coach Santi Denia said. "We have achieved our objective, but it's been a very difficult game and now it is time to improve. That's my job, I have to transmit better."

New Zealand defeated Guinea 2-1 in Group A with Plymouth Argyle's Ben Waine getting the winner.

In Group C Egypt and the Dominican Republic drew 0-0, while Japan beat 10-man Paraguay 5-0 in Group D.

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