{"id":413698,"date":"2024-07-24T18:47:53","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T18:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=413698"},"modified":"2024-07-25T02:09:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T02:09:15","slug":"angry-and-bizarre-wild-pitch-invasion-mars-olympics-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=413698","title":{"rendered":"'Angry and bizarre': Wild pitch invasion mars Olympics opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Olympic<\/a> men's football tournament got off to a violent and chaotic start with Morocco's shocking 2-1 win against two time gold medallist Argentina.<\/p>\n

The result only tells part of the story after a dramatic end to the match at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, which had to be suspended for nearly two hours when furious Morocco fans crashed the pitch and threw bottles from the stands to protest a late a goal by Argentina in the 16th minute of added time.<\/p>\n

The angry and bizarre scene sparked confusion over whether the game had been concluded or paused.<\/p>\n

Watch every moment, every medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 live and free on Channel 9 and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. Plus, every event streaming ad free, live and on demand with 4K on<\/strong><\/em> Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The crowd was told to leave the stadium, but players remained at the venue and returned to the pitch for a final three minutes of added time in an empty stadium.<\/p>\n

Moments before play resumed, Cristian Medina's disputed goal was disallowed by VAR for offside, and Morocco held on for the victory.<\/p>\n

But not before a furious reaction from its fans who thought they'd been denied a critical win against one of international football's powerhouses.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Ledecky grilled on Titmus hype, doping controversy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Armed<\/p>\n

Objects were thrown and invading Morocco fans were tackled by security on the field after Medina appeared to level the game at 2-2.<\/p>\n

There were images of some Argentina players flinching when what appeared to be a flare was thrown onto the field.<\/p>\n

Bottles and cups were strewn over the pitch by the time the game was paused.<\/p>\n

\"Giuliano<\/p>\n

It was initially thought that the fulltime whistle had been blown. Even FIFA's website declared the game over.<\/p>\n

About an hour after the incident, organisers at the venue confirmed the match was not officially over and VAR would review whether the goal would stand.<\/p>\n

Players eventually re-entered the field after a long delay and began to warm up before the game could be concluded.<\/p>\n

\"Soufiane<\/p>\n

After warmups, players from both teams stood on the field in the otherwise empty stadium while an official reviewed the video.<\/p>\n

He offered a brief explanation to Argentina while players on Morocco's bench celebrated.<\/p>\n

Play went on for about three minutes after the resumption before the final whistle was blown.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Morocco had led the game 2-0 before Argentina's fight back.<\/p>\n

Giuliano Simeone scored in the 68th minute before Medina's effort sparked chaotic scenes.<\/p>\n

The game was broadcast in cafes throughout Morocco, where national pride has swelled since the country advanced to the semi-finals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

During a record breaking heatwave, tea drinking men screamed at televisions and watched in shock as fans stormed the field.<\/p>\n

Zak Eddakir, a 28 year-old from Rabat, said the fans reaction had to do with football's importance in Morocco and a natural disappointment at a draw and the idea that a referee's call could end a game.<\/p>\n

"In football, it's normal," he said.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/StanSportAU\/status\/1816149478115774900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

"When you see something like that, it's really hard for supporters. Here, football is life. Even the King supports it."<\/p>\n

Hairdresser Khadija Seffany streamed into the street to embrace her friends and neighbors after Morocco emerged victorious.<\/p>\n

She initially thought the delay in calling the goal offside suggested the referees wanted Argentina to win because Morocco is an Arab country.<\/p>\n

Every match throughout the Olympics will be important, she said.<\/p>\n

"Here, we're one of the best in the world. We drink football. We eat football," Seffany said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Olympic men's football tournament got off to a violent and chaotic start with Morocco's shocking 2-1 win against two time gold medallist Argentina. The […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":413700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=413698"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":413707,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413698\/revisions\/413707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/413700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=413698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=413698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=413698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}