"It's a historic disgrace" - Argentina star slams late VAR call in their shock loss to Morocco at 2024 Paris Olympics
Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi has criticized VAR's decision which led to La Albiceleste's loss against Morocco at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The clash ended in a 2-1 defeat for Argentina on July 24, 2024, at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in France.
Morocco maintained a 2-1 lead by the end of 90 minutes, which was followed by 15 minutes of injury time. Argentine midfielder Cristian Medina netted a late equalizer, which would have resulted in a 2-2 draw. However, the game was interrupted as angry Moroccan fans entered the stadium.
The match was temporarily suspended and after about two hours, a VAR check canceled Argentina's equalizer, ruling it to be offside. After the situation was under control, the remaining three-plus minutes were played with players returning to the pitch in an empty stadium. The clash finally ended in a 2-1 win for Morocco.
After the unsatisfying result at the 2024 Paris Olympics opener, Nicolas Otamendi said (via @AlbicelesteTalk on X):
"It's a historic disgrace. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Morocco didn't want to play, and neither did we. We waited for an hour and forty minutes, but no one told us anything. It’s frustrating because these are the Olympic Games."
With Lionel Messi not being a part of La Albiceleste's Olympic 2024 squad, Benfica centre-back Nicolás Otamendi is serving as the captain.
Javier Mascherano on Argentina's loss at the 2024 Paris Olympics opener
Argentine U23 head coach Javier Mascherano opened up about La Albiceleste's loss against Morocco at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening game. The former player said (via @AlbicelesteTalk on X):
"I don’t know what happened. We were in the locker room for almost an hour and a half. At no point were we informed about what could happen. As a player, I’ve never experienced security failing seven times in a match at this level. It was a disgrace."
"Today, they invaded the pitch seven times and then threw fireworks at us. They told us the match was finished 2-2. Neither we nor Morocco wanted to continue playing," added Javier Mascherano.
Argentina will play against Iraq next at the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 27, where they need to perform well in order to continue their run in the competition.