Cristian Medina‘s goal very late into injury time appeared to save Argentina from losing its Olympics opener to Morocco during Wednesday’s men’s soccer action, but VAR ruled that Medina was offside, giving Morocco the 2-1 win.
Following Medina’s would-be tying goal, chaos ensued. Fans invaded the pitch in Saint-Étienne and the match was suspended for over an hour, even as some believed it ended in a 2-2 draw.
Almost as long as the delay was the amount of injury time the referee determined was needed to finish the match. With Morocco up 2-1, a minimum of 15 minutes was added and it was Medina heading home what everyone thought would hold as the equalizer after Argentina hit the cross bar twice.
Following the goal, fans invaded the pitch and objects were thrown at Argentina players, who were booed earlier in the match in response to the post-Copa América celebrations that included them chanting a song that the French Football Federation described as “racist and discriminatory.”
Once the fans and objects were cleared from the pitch, the teams had already moved to their locker rooms despite the match being suspended by officials and not over. After a delay of over an hour, the referee ruled that VAR was needed to review Medina’s goal.
Following the VAR review, the goal was taken away after Medina was found to be in an offside position.
Argentine TV reporting that the referee will review the play once the game begins as if there is something to interpret here. Per these official images it’s pretty clear.
This finish has been nothing short of absurd, scandalous and embarrassing. The Olympic Games… pic.twitter.com/Vm87llAmKv
— Nico Cantor (@Nicocantor1) July 24, 2024
Along with the VAR review that gave Morocco the lead back, the teams went back out on to the pitch, warmed up again and finished the match by playing three more minutes with no fans in the stadium.
Wrote Argentina legend Lionel Messi on Instagram: “Insòlito” (unbelievable) with a surprise face emoji.
“It is the biggest circus I have ever seen in my life,” said Argentina head coach Javier Mascherano.
