Morocco's Achraf Hakimi has condemned the behaviour of fans after a major disruption at the first match of the Paris Olympics 2024, which saw bottles and plastic cups rain down from the stands and players evacuated from the pitch.
The first football match of the Olympics between Morocco and Argentina finished on a worrying note after fans threw cups, bottles, and a burning flare onto the pitch, effectively disrupting the match.
"We started the Olympic Games with an important victory. I deplore the attitude of certain supporters during the match, which tarnished the image of our loyal fans. Such behavior has no place in football," Hakimi wrote on X.
The game, which eventually ended 2-1, was suspended for nearly two hours amid chaotic scenes that saw riot police move in and players escorted off the pitch into their respective dressing rooms.
The game resumed after all fans in the stands were ordered to leave the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne, Paris.
After Argentina’s Cristian Medina scored a second goal in the 16th minute, projectiles, including bottles and plastic cups, rained down from the stands, and several spectators entered the pitch, with the referee promptly blowing the whistle.
Chaos
The teams left the playing area, but the referee had not blown for full-time, and the outcome of the match was completely unclear until the sides finally reappeared two hours later to play out three more minutes in a stadium that was by now emptied of spectators.
Medina's goal was eventually disallowed for offside following a VAR review, and Morocco held on to claim all three points.
It was an undignified start to the sporting action at the Paris Games and a bad day all around for Argentina, whose players were booed as they emerged onto the pitch and during the national anthems by the crowd, most of whom were supporting Morocco.
That welcome came after Argentina players were filmed singing racist chants following their victory in the recent Copa America.
Argentina are looking to win men's football gold for the third time after success in 2004 and 2008, but Javier Mascherano's side trailed 2-0 following a brace by Soufiane Rahimi.
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