Football great Lionel Messi was stunned after Argentina lost their opening group stage match at the Paris Olympics, Soccernet.football reports.
The game against Morocco on Wednesday, 24 July, ended in chaos when Argentina thought they had equalized in the 16th minute of added time.
However, Moroccan fans stormed the pitch, leading to the referees halting the game as security cleared the stadium.
The match resumed two hours later, with Argentina’s goal being disallowed by VAR. The final score was 2-1 in Morocco’s favour after the play resumed with the score tied at 2-2.
Argentina’s coach, Javier Mascherano, was critical of the decision, describing the game as “the biggest circus I have ever seen in my life.”
On his social media account, Messi wrote the singular word, translated, “unbelievable”.
On his social media account, Messi wrote the singular word, translated, as “unbelievable”.
Cristian Medina’s late goal seemed to have secured a draw for Argentina, but the VAR decision came after a lengthy delay.
The teams returned to the pitch to finish the match in an empty stadium, playing for an additional three minutes and 15 seconds after the goal was ruled out.
The match was interrupted after the fan invasion, and officials suspended it, leaving the teams unsure if it would continue. The game eventually resumed just before 7:00 p.m. local time, with players warming up a second time for the final minutes.
Argentina, featuring recent Copa America winners like Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi, and Geronimo Rulli, struggled despite their strong lineup.
Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi opened the scoring with a goal set up by Achraf Hakimi in the first half’s final moments.
Rahimi added a second from the penalty spot in the 49th minute before Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for Argentina in the 68th minute.
Medina’s disallowed goal came 16 minutes into stoppage time, leading to the chaotic scenes in Saint-Etienne.