Olympics: Argentina scrape out last gasp draw against Morocco as fans invade pitch, throw objects at ARG players

The Argentina squad consisting of the likes of Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez came back from the death to draw 2-2 against a game Morocco side on the first day of the footballing action at the Paris Olympics.

Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi scored both goals for the Atlas Lions, first in the 45+2 mins and then again from the penalty spot to double his side’s lead. Giovanni Simeone would pull one back for Argentina but the La Albiceleste couldn’t find another goal till the 16th minute of added time with Cristian Medina equalizing for the 2008 Olympics gold medal winners.

After the referee blew for full time, fans stormed the pitch and objects were thrown at players as chaos erupted in the French eastern city. Argentina were also booed by spectators before and during the match for Enzo Fernandez’s video controversy labelled by the French Football Federation as “racist and discriminatory”.

🚨 Moroccan fans invaded the pitch and threw bottles to Argentine players after Argentina's goal. They also set off fireworks near the Argentine bench.

pic.twitter.com/qpoxmAJWsL

— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) July 24, 2024

In another match, Spain defeated Uzbekistan 1-2 at the Parc des Princes in western Paris with Marc Pubill and Sergio Gómez scoring for the Euro 2024 winners while Eldor Shomurodov pulled one back for the Uzbeks.

The honor of kicking off went to Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov, who played for Italian side Cagliari in Serie A last season and had scored 40 goals for his country before this match. The 29-year-old Shomurodov passed the ball back to a teammate and then applauded. FIFA president Gianni Infantino met players before the game.

Argentina, playing without Lionel Messi in these Games, also got the ball rolling against Morocco in Saint-Étienne at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium. It is nicknamed Le Chaudron (The Cauldron) for the fervent atmosphere created by passionate supporters of the local club.

Fans of Morocco and Argentina mingled outside and two Argentina fans held up a flag with a photo of the late Diego Maradona on it, along with the words “El Pibe de Oro” (the Golden Kid) — the affectionate nickname fans called the 1986 World Cup winner.

There was also a joyful atmosphere in the streets leading to Parc des Princes, which is near where Olympic tennis will be played at Roland Garros, home of the French Open.

Around 150 Uzbekistan fans met outside Porte d’Auteuil subway station, waving flags, singing songs and beating a drum as they walked to the stadium accompanied by a light police presence. Uzbekistan fans, perched on the upper tier of the Boulogne section behind one the goals, made the most noise — and started chanting even more loudly immediately after Pubill pounced from close range at the other end to put Spain ahead.

Security was set to be much higher outside the same stadium on Wednesday night, when Israel played Mali in Group D amid ongoing tensions in Gaza.

Eight football matches were scheduled for Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony. The rugby sevens also had 12 matches Wednesday with Australia playing Samoa at Stade de France, the national stadium.

(With agency inputs)

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