On July 25, 2024, Beijing time, the men's football group stage of the Paris Olympics kicked off, and the opening match was the double Copa America champion Argentina against Morocco. In the end, the organizing committee ruled that Argentina lost 1-2 to Morocco, but the course of the game was far from as simple as the score suggested. Before the game, players and fans on both sides probably did not expect that this opening match would turn into an unprecedented "big brawl".
Strange stoppage time
Over the course of the game, Morocco took the lead and took a 2-0 lead thanks to a brace from Rahimi, before Argentina pulled back the suspense with Simeone's goal shortly thereafter. But at this time, the weaker Morocco team began to delay time frequently, hoping to gain this rare victory by delaying time.
But after the fourth official announced the stoppage time, the Morocco players were dumbfounded, and the game turned out to be 16 minutes of stoppage time. You must know that in modern football games, stoppage time is generally concentrated between 5-10 minutes, and it is absolutely quite rare to be able to make up to 16 minutes. And the long stoppage time is also destined to be very variable.
Sure enough, in the last minute of stoppage time, Argentina's Medina headed home to equalize Argentina, and the three points that the Morocco saw seemed to be in vain.
Dissatisfied with the penalty, the arena turned into a battlefield where cannonballs flew everywhere?
Through video replay, there was a major offside suspicion in the stoppage time goal, but the referee did not immediately indicate offside, which also completely broke the last line of defense of Morocco fans. Massive fans poured into the stadium to protest, and some even threw bombs and other explosives into the stadium. In an instant, the opening match turned into a battlefield, with artillery fire flying, and in the midst of extreme chaos, players and officials left the stadium one after another, and people thought that the game would be over. 2-2 will be the final scoreline.
Rollback restart? Dumbfounded replay!
If you think what has happened before you is outrageous, then I can only say that your imagination is far from enough. Just when everyone thought the game was over, the IOC made another confusing announcement: the game was not over. You heard it right, even though 16 minutes of stoppage time had been added and the goal had been interrupted, the game was still not over.
An hour later, the Olympic Committee asked both players to re-enter the game, and the referee ruled that the goal was invalid and the score was adjusted back to 1-2. Players from both sides warm up again and continue playing. In the end, the game was played for another 3 minutes with an empty field, and in the end Argentina lost 1-2 to Morocco.
5 hours of outrageous competition, the first game exposed the amateurism of the Paris organizers?
From start to finish, a football game that was supposed to be only 90 minutes ended up playing for 5 hours. And the various performances in the course of the competition have highlighted the amateurism of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee.
Referee issues. As a professional football referee, he should stop the player's lying behavior on the field in time, but the referee of this game repeatedly allowed his Morocco teammates to delay time. This eventually led to 16 minutes of extra stoppage time, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent clashes. At the same time, when there is a suspicion of offside in the goal, VAR intervention will be applied for as soon as possible. The referee's dullness in dealing with the situation completely angered the Morocco fans, and it can be said that the referee was the most direct cause of the problems in this game.
Security issues. As an Olympic Games hosted by a developed country, fans can break through the guardrail and directly enter the stadium during the game, and what is even more outrageous is that some fans can bring bombs into the stadium and drop them. This all reflects the amateurism of the security of this competition, and if it is replaced by terrorists or other people with bad intentions to infiltrate the arena, I am afraid the consequences will be even more terrible. With such a security situation, I can't help but sweat for the safety of athletes' lives.
Questions from the Organizing Committee. In terms of follow-up processing, the response of the organizing committee can also be called stupid. A rematch was announced only after a two-hour break in the game, which was the same as a joke. Looking back on the Paris Olympic Games, whether it is from the establishment of venues and facilities, the arrangement of players' accommodation or the content of the current competition display, it shows that the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee has extremely amateur business skills. If you could give a score for this Olympics, I believe that the vast majority of people would not have been able to reach the passing mark.