Under the open football tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, the match between Argentina and Morocco was abruptly interrupted due to a pitch invasion by spectators. The game, held at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, concluded with a dramatic 2-1 victory for Morocco after a lengthy VAR (Video Assistant Referee) review.

The match was intense, and at one point it was 2-2 when Cristian Medina from Argentina scored a goal deep into injury time. However, the joy was short-lived as the goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review that lasted nearly two hours. Before this decision was made, the game was suspended due to disorder on the field, where security personnel had to chase several spectators who had invaded the pitch.

“The football match between Argentina and Morocco was suspended due to a pitch invasion by a small number of spectators,” stated the organizers of the Olympics on Thursday. “The match was then resumed and was completed safely. Paris 2024 is working with the relevant stakeholders to understand the causes and identify appropriate measures.”

Once it was clarified that the match had not been completely abandoned but merely suspended, the players returned to the pitch to play the remaining minutes in a nearly empty stadium. The game resumed only after the VAR review and the goal disallowance, leading to an additional 3 minutes and 15 seconds of play.

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera commented on the incident: “There was a minor intrusion that should not have occurred, but it was harmless. There has been a debriefing between the organizing committee and FIFA, and everything will soon return to normal.” She added that there would be another match played in Saint-Etienne next week and assured that everything would go smoothly.

This incident marks an unfortunate start to the Olympic football tournament, and organizers now face the challenge of ensuring that such disruptions do not happen again in the future.