Paris 2024: Lionel Messi Appears to Slam Controversial Argentina vs Morocco Game

Paris 2024: Lionel Messi Appears to Slam Controversial Argentina vs Morocco Game

  • Lionel Messi has appeared to comment on the controversial scenes which marked Argentina's game against Morocco
  • The Paris 2024 Olympics opener was marred by contentious officiating decisions, crowd trouble and a disallowed goal
  • Argentina's equaliser in the last minute of stoppage time was disallowed after play had been suspended for more than an hour

Lionel Messi has seemingly added his voice to the controversial Paris 2024 game, pitting Argentina against Morocco in a rare Instagram post.

The 2024 Olympic Games got underway in the French capital with a host of rugby and football games on the first day ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday.

Argentina and Morocco players prepare for restart at Paris 2024
Referee Glynn Nyberg briefs Argentina and Morocco players ahead of the restart of play in their Paris 2024 Olympics game on July 24, 2024. Photo by Arnaud Finistre.
Source: Getty Images

Argentina were the second-best for better periods against Morocco with the North African side racing to a two-nil lead inside 51 minutes.

Javier Mascherano's side wrestled back with one goal in the 68th minute and thought they had gotten a point after a Cristian Medina goal in the 16th minute of stoppage time.

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Why was Argentina vs Morocco suspended?

However, in an unprecedented turn of events, the game was suspended after fans invaded the pitch, forcing security officials to intervene.

The players were asked back into the dressing room and play was only resumed after order had been restored. ESPN reports that this took place after more than one hour with no fans present at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The game restarted with the referee, Glenn Nyberg, reviewing Medina's goal. An offside offence was spotted in the build-up, and Argentina's supposed equaliser was chalked off. The game ended soon after, with Morocco taking the three points.

What has Messi said about the Argentina Olympic game?

The confusion, pitch invasion, and subsequent loss of Argentina appear to have drawn Messi's attention. He wrote 'Insolito' on his Instagram stories, which is loosely translated to 'unusual' or 'unbelievable'.

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Messi won the tournament in 2008 alongside Angel Di Maria.

Argentina are now faced with the daunting task of saving their campaign in a must-win game against Iraq on Sunday.

Argentina vs Morocco added 15 minutes

Legit.ng has also reported that Argentina's game vs Morocco had an unusual number of extra minutes added.

The referee added 15 minutes at the end of the second half. Argentina thought they had equalised in the last minute of the game, but VAR chalked off the goal.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Martin Moses avatar

Martin Moses Martin Moses is a journalist from the Multimedia University of Kenya (2021). He has practised sports journalism for over five years. He launched his career in media at MMU radio (February 2018-June 2021). Martin also interviewed distinguished sports personalities while at Sports 360 (2020-2022) before joining Sports Brief in April 2022. You can reach out at martin.moses@sportsbrief.com