Olympics 2024: Why was Argentina vs Morocco Football match delayed for 2 Hours in Paris? Who's at Fault?

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Argentina and Morocco's men's football match in Olympics 2024 saw a shocking incident which saw the match getting delayed for more than a couple of hours on Wednesday (July 24).

A shocking crowd disturbance unravelled at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint Etienne, amid Argentina's 1-2 defeat at the hands of Morocco.

Morocco were leading 2-0 before Giuliano Simeone scored one for Los Albicelestes. Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of the second half stoppage time to equalize but the trouble started from there.

What happened in Argentina vs Morocco Olympics 2024 Match?

After Medina put the ball in the back of the net, the Morocco supporters turned on the Argentina players. A chaos broke out at the stadium as the Moroccans threw cups, bottles and pyrotechnics to the Argentina players. Some of the fans invaded the pitch and started throwing things towards the Argentina players.

The referee suspended the game from there and took both teams into the dressing room. One of those pyrotechnics almost hit an Argentina player, who somehow managed to escape the stadium into the tunnel. Many Moroccan fans were also arrested for invasion into the pitch.

Amid the confusion of Full Time, it was conveyed that three more minutes of the match would be played. The final three minutes then took place without spectators. To Argentina's despair, the goal from Medina was ruled out as Simeone was offside during the build-up. Morocco held on and won the match to register a winning start in the Olympics 2024.

Who is at Fault?

The Morocco supporters will have to share the main blame as they went berserk and broke order. Their vehement protests after conceding a goal (which later got chalked out) was shocking and very rare in an event such as the Olympics.

But the crowd trouble that took place must be a real shame for the Olympics 2024 and a dent to the event already. The majority of the supporters were from Morocco and their act warrants a much deeper inspection from the IOC, who failed to maintain playing conditions. Also, the usage and allowing of crackers and other pyrotechnics must have to be looked at as well.