Lionel Messi led Argentina’s fury towards FIFA and Olympics officials after Argentina’s football match against Morocco descended into chaos on Wednesday.
Argentina were beaten 2-1 by Morocco in their opening game in Group B but the game lasted just over four hours, having initially kicked off at 2pm, following crowd trouble which resulted in every fan being ordered to leave the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Etienne.
Morocco appeared to be on course to secure the win when Cristian Medina headed the ball into the net in the 16th minute of injury time in what looked to be an equaliser for Argentina.
Argentina’s players were pelted by cups and bottles during their celebrations, while a flare landed near the players and coaching staff in the dugout.
Morocco supporters also ran on to the pitch, while French riot police emerged on the touchline to help restore order.
Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg opted to take the players off the pitch and a message on a big screen in the stadium told supporters: ‘Your session has been suspended please make your way to the nearest exit.’
But instead of ending the game, the players were forced to play the final three minutes to an empty stadium.
During the break in play which lasted over an hour, it was also announced that Medina’s goal had been ruled out for offside by the VAR.
After his players were brought back out to finish the game, Argentina’s head coach, Javier Mascherano, was heard saying on the touchline: ‘The biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life.’
Messi, meanwhile, is not playing at the Olympics having led Argentina to victory at the Copa America this month.
But Argentina’s talisman was clearly watching the farcical scenes unfold as he posted on Instagram after the final whistle: ‘Unbelievable’.
Argentine athletes have also faced a hostile reception at the Olympics in the wake of Enzo Fernandez’s video which showed Argentina’s players singing a racist song about France after their win in the Copa America final.
The racist and transphobic chant, which was first sung by Argentina supporters during the 2022 World Cup, claims that France’s players are ‘all from Angola’ and makes a vile reference to a reported relationship between France striker Kylian Mbappe and transgender model Ines Rau.
Argentina’s national anthem was booed loudly before their game kicked off against Morocco, while in the Rugby Sevens, Argentina’s players were whistled as they walked out at the Stade de France before beating Kenya 31-12.
The truth is that I was surprised, I didn’t know it was going to be so much,’ Santiago Alvarez, a member of Argentina’s Rugby Sevens squad, told TyC Sports.
‘But that’s also nice. The same thing happens in Argentina, the French are very similar to us in that sense, they are very passionate. It’s one more thing. But well, we have to abstract ourselves from that and think about ourselves.’