Paris Olympics 2024: Argentina Football Association file complaint to FIFA over events in game against Morocco

Argentina were beaten 2-1 by Morocco in their opening Olympic match.

The Argentina Football Association (AFA) have filed a formal complaint to FIFA’s Disciplinary Council. It is in response to the events that transpired during their Olympic opening match against Morocco on Wednesday.

After Argentina’s Cristian Medina scored deep into stoppage time, Moroccan fans invaded the pitch. This caused a two-hour delay that ultimately resulted in the game in Saint-Étienne being played in an empty stadium.

While the Argentine players were celebrating a goal, bottles, cups and firecrackers were hurled at them.

In a statement, AFA announced that it had complained to FIFA and asked that the “necessary regulatory measures be taken for an event of such seriousness.”

The statement added: “It is imperative to guarantee the safety of the protagonists for the peaceful development of this beautiful sport that is football and from the home of Argentine Football, we will do what is necessary to make this happen.”

The play restarted nearly two hours later. After an investigation, the referee declared Medina’s equaliser offside, leaving Argentina’s team confused.

Javier Mascherano, the coach of Argentina, called the proceedings “the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Non-Olympic squad member Lionel Messi, the senior captain of Argentina men’s team, shared an emoji of a face with wide-open eyes on Instagram along with the word “Unusual.”

AFA President Claudio Fabián Tapia has called for the punishment of those involved in the incidents.

“It was regrettable what we had to experience today as Argentinians in Saint-Étienne,” Tapia wrote on social media. “Waiting almost two hours in the locker room, only for our players to have to go back out to warm up and continue playing a match that should have been suspended by the referee after the pitch invasion by Moroccan spectators and the violence suffered by the Argentine delegation, is truly senseless and goes against the competition rules.

“Furthermore, the opinions of the captains of both teams, who believed the game should not have resumed, were not heard.

“From the Argentine Football Association, we have already submitted the complaint to FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee so that the relevant regulatory measures can be taken and a sanction imposed on those responsible.”

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