Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said he had never witnessed such a "circus" after a pitch invasion triggered a dramatic, long-delayed climax to their 2-1 loss to Morocco in their Olympic opener in Saint-Etienne on July 24.
Cristian Medina thought he had salvaged a 2-2 draw for Argentina when he scored 16 minutes into injury time. But the goal was then ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee (VAR) - only when play resumed for a few minutes after a massive two-hour stoppage to clear the stadium of fans.
Mascherano said there had been a lack of communication from organisers about what was going to happen as the team sat waiting in the Geoffroy Guichard Stadium dressing room before the resumption.
"I can't explain what happened. We spent about an hour and a half in the dressing room where they never told us what was going to happen," he said.
"The Moroccans didn't want to play, we didn't want to continue, and fans threw things at us.
"It's the biggest circus I've ever seen in my life, I don't know why they spent an hour and 20 minutes reviewing a play.
This story is from the July 26, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the July 26, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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