In a Paris 2024 debut marred by controversy, Morocco ended up claiming a 2-1 win against Argentina in the first day of this year’s Olympics. Achraf Hakimi took to social media a few hours after the final whistle, addressing the incidents that forced the game to be suspended for nearly two hours.
“We started the Olympic Games with an important victory. I deplore the behavior of certain supporters during the match, which tarnished the image of our loyal fans. Such behavior has no place in soccer. Dima Maghrib (Always Morocco),” Hakimi wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Hakimi, 25, is one of the overage players called up by Morocco for Paris 2024. The Paris Saint-Germain star has captained the team to victory in its debut, but he couldn’t overlook the incidents that happened in Saint-Etienne.
Morocco fans whistle, throw firecrackers and storm field in Paris 2024 debut against Argentina
The Moroccan supporters made headlines for the wrong reasons in the country’s first match, whistling Argentina from the moment they took the field. But they went even further later in the game.
Soufiane Rahimi #9 of Team Morocco celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with teammate Achraf Hakimi #2 of Team Morocco during the Men’s group B match between Argentina and Morocco during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on July 24, 2024 in Saint-Etienne, France.
When Argentina celebrated Cristian Medina’s goal — eventually disallowed — Moroccan fans immediately stormed the field, leading to the suspension of the game as others threw firecrackers and bottles on the Argentine players.
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Many thought the match ended in a 2-2 draw as both teams went to the tunnel, but it turns out referee Glenn Nyberg hadn’t called it off yet. Instead, the referee still wanted to play the remaining minutes.
Morocco win as Argentina’s equalizer gets disallowed after nearly two hours of wait
Even though he added 15 minutes to the game, Nyberg planned to add even more time after Medina’s equalizer. But first, he also wanted to see the VAR review to determine whether Argentina‘s equalizer should stand.
It took nearly two hours for the referee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to decide the match should be resumed. After checking the replay on the monitor, Nyberg disallowed Argentina’s second goal for offside and determined the remaining three minutes should be played.
Argentina were unable to find another late equalizer, with Morocco emerging victorious after a chaotic turn of events in the first day of Paris 2024. Hakimi and company ended up celebrating the win, but the captain didn’t stay silent about the controversy sparked by the fans’ behavior.
