‘Circus’ football opener ‘pathetic’ – Mascherano

Argentina coach Javier Mascherano has described the chaotic ending to his team’s 2-1 loss to Morocco in the men’s Olympic football tournament as a “disgrace” and “a circus”.

Crowd trouble forced the first football match of Paris 2024 to be suspended for nearly two hours, with the game eventually completed in an empty stadium.

With Morocco leading 2-1 Argentina appeared to level the match 16 minutes into second-half injury time, which sparked bottles being thrown onto the turf and a pitch invasion by some supporters in Morocco colours.

The referee led both sets of players off the pitch at 16:05 BST, with the match resuming at 18:00 after fans had left the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne.

Shortly before restarting, Argentina’s equaliser was ruled out for offside following intervention from the video assistant referee (VAR).

Morocco held on to their lead across three additional minutes.

“I have not been a coach for long, but never in my career as a player have I seen a situation like that,” said Mascherano, who won gold with Argentina in 2004 and 2008.

“It is a circus. But that is how it is. We cannot control it. I told the boys that now we need to look forward, try to get the six points that will allow us to qualify and that all this should fill us with energy and anger for what we have ahead of us.”

For some time the outcome of the match was unclear, with the official International Olympic Committee (IOC) website indicating it had ended.

Mascherano said the team captains initially “decided not to play on” and that the organiser “called Fifa” – world football’s governing body – before deciding to restart the match.

“It is a disgrace that this should happen and poison the tournament. This wouldn’t even happen in a neighbourhood tournament. It’s pathetic,” he added.

“Beyond the Olympic spirit, the organisation needs to be up to standard and at the moment, unfortunately, it is not.”

A statement from the tournament organisers said: “The football match between Argentina and Morocco at the Saint-Etienne Stadium was suspended due to a pitch invasion by a small number of spectators.

“The match then restarted and was able to conclude safely. Paris 2024 is working with the relevant stakeholders to understand the causes and identify appropriate actions.”

Argentina play their second match on Saturday in Lyon against Iraq, with Morocco facing Ukraine in Saint-Etienne on the same day.

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