Argentina's fiasco in chaotic Olympic premiere

It was at least a dramatic Olympic premiere match between Argentina and Morocco in the men's football tournament. It's the biggest circus I've seen in my life, says the Argentine national team captain Javier Mascherano according to Marca.

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Argentina's fiasco in chaotic Olympic premiere
Photo: Silvia Izquierdo/AP/TT

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The OS premiere match between Argentina and Morocco in the men's football tournament was at least dramatic.

It's the biggest circus I've seen in my life, says Argentine national team captain Javier Mascherano, according to Marca.

The final stage of the OS match between Argentina and Morocco will be something that both teams will not soon forget.

Argentina seemed to have equalized in the 106th minute – after the ball had twice hit the crossbar, before Cristian Medina could nod in 2–2.

Then scandalous scenes broke out. Several people stormed the pitch, and some kind of firecracker was thrown at the Argentine players, who had to seek refuge in the player tunnel while several security guards stood as a shield.

After that, the match seemed to be over, but it wasn't.

Almost two hours after the players had left the pitch, the organizer announced that the match would be resumed – in front of empty stands.

Rockets were fired at us. They said the match was over due to security reasons. Not even Morocco wanted to finish the match, says Mascherano.

In connection with the last three minutes of the match getting underway, the message also came that Medina's 2–2 goal had been disallowed for offside after VAR review.

Marocco thus won the chaotic OS premiere with 2–1.

It's the biggest circus I've seen in my life, says Mascherano.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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