Argentina-Morocco Olympic Men's Soccer Opener Descends Into Chaos
The Facts
The first day of men's soccer at the Paris Games was mired in chaos as the Argentina-Morocco game at Stade Geoffroy Guichard in Saint-Ettiene had to be suspended for over an hour and completed behind closed doors.
Morocco fans stormed the field and threw objects at Argentina players, including what appeared to be a flare, on Wednesday after Cristian Medina scored a late-minute equalizer for the South Americans that was eventually ruled out by a video assistant referee (VAR).
The Spin
Narrative A
This incident has turned an opening Olympic game into a pathetic circus in which Argentine players were forced to run back to their locker room as organizers failed to ensure their safety to play soccer. On top of that, the decision to resume the game goes against FIFA regulations as neither side wanted to continue playing.
Narrative B
It's certainly regrettable that organizational disaster has tarnished this opening Olympic game, but what is more concerning is the fact that Argentine fans have used that as a justification to carry out racist and xenophobic online attacks yet again — now against Moroccan players. There must be no room for such behavior in soccer.
