Morocco secured a dramatic and historic opening day victory against pre-Olympic favourites Argentina at the Stade Geoffroy- Guichard in Saint Etienne, as Cristian Medina’s last gasp equalizer was ruled out after hours of delay.
The heavily weighted clash, played between the African U-23 champions and the South American U-23 champions, was short of mouth watering action in the first half hour as both sides adopted a cautious approach.
However, the game burst into life deep into first half stoppage time, with an intricate passing sequence from Morocco finished off by Achraf’s Hakimi’s assist to Soufiane Rahimi, who tucked home from close range.
Rahimi’s strike climaxed a lull first half, which was in contrast to the excitement provided at the start of the second half.
Rahimi was on hand in the 51st minute to finish from the spot for Morocco, securing his brace in the process, and asserting the North African’s dominance in the game.
Javier Mascherano and his Argentina side struggled to lay a foot in the game, with the two time gold medallist reduced to half chances throughout.
However, a tactical tweak by Mascherano — replacing Kevin Zenon with Giuliano Simeone in the 54th minute — paid off. Giuliano got at the end of a cross to hand Argentina a life line on 68 minutes, leading to a nervy finale.
Morocco, who were in search of a first Olympic win since 2004, were shell-shocked by what transpired after.
Sektioui’s Tarik’s men were seconds away from victory until a ping ball in the box, with the ball striking the frame of the woodwork twice, before Medina rose highest to draw Argentina level until the goal was ruled out after hours of VAR check and mayhem.
Medina’s strike was followed by flares thrown at the Argentine bench by Moroccan fans, leading to the game being halted.
Rahimi’s goals either side of half time — after two hours — were enough for Morocco to win their first Olympic Game in 20 years.
Morocco face Ukraine next, while Argentina take on Iraq.
Elsewhere, Spain held off Uzbekistan to record a 2-1 victory at the Parc Des Princes, moving to the summit of Group C in the process.
The Controversy
Swedish official Glenn Nyberg signaled to the fourth official to add 15 minutes for stoppages. When the substitution board went up, 15 minutes, as indicated by Nyberg, were shown.
What was to follow has not quite been seen since the technological implementation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system in the 2018/19 season.
Argentina, who were trailing before stoppage time, found themselves in a goal mouth scramble in Morocco’s box at the death of the game, which resulted in Medina nodding home to ensure parity.
Moroccan fans reacted angrily to the South American’s equalizer by throwing flares onto the pitch; specifically the Argentine bench.
The crowd trouble and unrest (with pitch invasion inclusive) meant the game had to be halted, with about three minute of stoppages to be played.
Players and technical staff of both sides were ushered by the security and stewards into the changing rooms, with the game still deadlocked at 2-2.
After an hour of wait in the dressing rooms, with no fans at the ground, the match finally resumed. To the dismay of Argentina, the VAR check – which was being undertaken since the halt of the game – showed there was an offside in the build up to the equalizer, ruling their strike out.
The rest of the game was played out in an empty ground as Morocco (never seen before) benefited from a controversial VAR decision, ending a 12 year wait for a win at the Olympic Games.
Argentina head coach Javier Mascherano described the situation as a circus.
This is the biggest circus I’ve seen, he said.
Captain of the national side and 2008 Olympic gold medalist, Lionel Messi took to his Instagram account and wrote: “Insolito”, which translates as Unbelievable.
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Story by: Andrews Sefa Bamfo| univers.ug.edu.gh
