‘Circus’ football opener ‘pathetic’ – Mascherano

‘Circus’ football opener ‘pathetic’ – Mascherano Media caption, Watch the story of Argentina’s game against Morocco that lasted four hours Joe Rindl BBC Sport journalist Published 9 hours ago 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
‘Circus’ football opener ‘pathetic’ – Mascherano

‘Circus’ football opener ‘pathetic’ – Mascherano

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Media caption,

Watch the story of Argentina’s game against Morocco that lasted four hours

  • Published

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 on to 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.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Former midfielder Javier Mascherano is a two-time gold medallist with Argentina

“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 the same day.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Media caption,

Late goal sends Argentina v Morocco game into chaos

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply
Related Posts
Israel Warns France that Iran Is Planning Attacks at Paris Olympics
Read More

Israel Warns France that Iran Is Planning Attacks at Paris Olympics

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reportedly warned the French government on Thursday that Jerusalem has reason to believe state sponsor of terrorism Iran is planning to attack its citizens during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, scheduled to begin on Friday. The suspicion — reportedly relayed in a letter to French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne — surfaced
Gabrielle Giffords stumps for Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania as campaign for running mate takes shape
Read More

Gabrielle Giffords stumps for Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania as campaign for running mate takes shape

Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was grievously wounded in a 2011 shooting, is taking to the campaign trail for Vice President Kamala Harris, as Harris’ nascent presidential campaign gets off the ground and a parallel campaign to be Harris’ running mate takes shape Gabrielle Giffords stumps for Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania as campaign
Cease tosses second no-hitter in Padres history
Read More

Cease tosses second no-hitter in Padres history

Dylan Cease tossed the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history on Thursday, carrying his team to a 3-0 Major League Baseball victory at Washington. The 28-year-old American right-hander improved to 10-8 with nine strikeouts and three walks over nine no-hit innings, throwing a career-high 114 pitches. “Unbelievable. It’s crazy,” Cease said. “That was pretty
Chipotle boss makes shocking admission after Mexican chain was accused of shrinking portion sizes
Read More

Chipotle boss makes shocking admission after Mexican chain was accused of shrinking portion sizes

Chipotle's CEO has made a shocking admission after the popular Mexican chain was accused of shrinking portion sizes. Brian Niccol, the chairman and CEO of Chipotle, announced during the company's second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday that Chipotle has found more than 10 percent of its 3,500 locations were scoring poorly on portion sizes. Niccol told analysts