The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics hasn’t even taken place yet and a huge scandal has already rocked the competition.
Argentina and Morocco contested the opening match of the men’s football event in Saint-Étienne and played to what seemed to be a 2-2 draw. In dramatic fashion, the Argentines had leveled the match in the 16th minute of stoppage time. An hour and a half later, the equalizer was ruled out. The teams played another three more minutes of football before the final whistle finally sounded. Morocco ultimately came away with a 2-1 victory.
Read on for a breakdown on one of the most mind-boggling controversies in football and Olympic history.
What Happened in the First 90 Minutes?
For the most part, the Group B clash flowed like any football match. Neither team seemed to threaten much in the first half, with Morocco enjoying 51% of the possession. The Atlas Lions would take the lead in the final seconds of the half, Achraf Hakimi setting up Soufiane Rahimi for the opening goal.
Early in the second half, Morocco were awarded a penalty, which Rahimi cooly converted to make it 2-0. What followed was a period of Argentinian pressure, rewarded by a Giuliano Simeone goal in the 68th minute. The two-time Olympic gold medalists continued to chase after an equalizer.
The Drama Begins
Throughout the game, both Moroccan and Argentinian players were guilty of diving and time-wasting. At various points, each team complained about referee Glenn Nyberg’s decisions.
A particularly questionable decision was Nyberg’s choice to add 15 minutes on to the second half. Even the Olympic graphics team seemed confused, only showing the correct number on screen at the third attempt. Further breaks in play saw the stoppage time period extend into the 16th minute.
Argentina’s chaotic onslaught saw Munir Mohamedi forced into a double save, while the woodwork was rattled as well, all in the span of ten seconds. Cristian Medina proceeded to nudge the ball over the line, sending the Argentinians into pandemonium. The teams quickly retreated off the pitch as Moroccan supporters invaded the pitch in fury.
The score was officially recorded as 2-2 and television broadcasts around the world drew to a close.
Behind-the-Scenes Confusion
Information broken by various journalists via social media platform X revealed that the final whistle had never actually sounded. Instead, the teams and officials had entered the changing rooms due to the pitch invasion and Nyberg actually intended to allow play to go on for a further three minutes.
Argentinian reporter Gastón Edul reported on the International Olympic Committee’s intention to continue the match approximately one hour after the teams had left the pitch. Fans had already been ordered off the premises. What’s more, TyC Sports announced that a VAR check on the last-second goal had been in progress when the game was suspended.
Sure enough, the players returned to the now-empty stadium an hour and a half after what everyone thought to be the end of the fixture. A brief warm-up ensued and the goal went to VAR review. Bruno Amione was ruled to have been in an offside position in the leadup, meaning Medina’s equalizer did not stand. The reported three minutes were tacked on and Morocco held on for a 2-1 win.
An Awful Look for the IOC
Whatever way you spin it, today’s fiasco was an immense embarrassment for the IOC and the match officials. Argentina manager Javier Mascherano rightly called the entire situation a “circus.” That’s exactly what it was.
The officials’ awful calls saw several players get away with simulation. An Argentinian player received a yellow card for what appeared to be a tangle between two Moroccan players. What’s more, the length of the stoppage time period was inexplicable. There certainly weren’t enough stops in play to warrant anything more than 10 minutes. Nyberg and his assistants’ awful performance calls into question the IOC’s appointment of them.
The already-infamous pitch invasion, which wasn’t even the first of the match, epitomizes a security issue at the Olympics. No one was harmed today, luckily, but with higher-stakes events featuring higher-profile athletes on the horizon, this does not bode well.
Finally, leaving both teams in doubt over the match was irresponsible and unfair. Information available to both federations, as well as the media, was extremely limited. The circumstances in which the VAR review took place are immensely questionable. With two weeks of Olympic action yet to come, the IOC has to get its act together and prevent anything similar to today’s scandal from occurring again.
Main Image: “IOC” by Prachtai via Flickr