Argentina’s 106th-minute equaliser against Morocco at the 2024 Olympics was ruled out over an hour after full-time.
The referee had taken both sets of players off the pitch following the late strike, as Moroccon fans invaded the pitch in protest.
Argentina’s players were pelted with missiles on their way off the pitch, with riot police ushered in to protect the entrance to the tunnel.
But unbeknown in the midst of celebrations following Cristian Medina’s apparent equaliser was that the goal should’ve actually been ruled out for offside – something the VAR didn’t pick up until one hour later.
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As the game hadn’t been officially ended by the referee, the players were ordered to return to the pitch over an hour after the game was thought to have finished.
The match restarted with the score back at 2-1 at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne without any fans in attendance.
Morocco were able to stand firm and see out the three points – a win that put the Atlas Lions top of Group B.
While primarily made up of under-23 players, Argentina fielded some familiar names, with Geronimo Rulli, Nicolas Otamendi and Manchester City treble-winning forward Julian Alvarez all in the starting XI.
Morocco had surged to an unlikely 2-0 lead, with goals either side of the half stunning the reigning World Cup champions.
Soufiane Rahimi was on target twice for Morocco, before Giuliano Simeone restored hope for Argentina with 20 minutes left to play.
It had looked as if the comeback would be completed when Medina bundled home from close range in the 16th-minute of injury time.
Lionel Messi was among those to take to social media in response to the bizarre sequence of events that unfolded in eastern-central France.
Posting on Instagram, the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star said: “insolito” – a Spanish word which roughly translates to ‘unbelievable’.
It came amid a hectic first day of Olympics action in France, with Spain’s football match against Uzbekistan in Paris disrupted by a bomb threat.
An unattended bag was reportedly spotted by police, who quickly cordoned off the area so the package could be dealt with accordingly.
Whereas ticketing problems forced thousands of fans to wait outside the Parc des Princes in Paris, with some even missing the start of the match.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk