Mascherano decries ‘circus’ after Argentina’s Olympic loss to Morocco

Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said he had never witnessed such a circus after a pitch invasion triggered a dramatic and long-delayed climax to the country's 2-1 loss to Morocco in their Olympic opener in St-Etienne on Wednesday.

Cristian Medina thought he had salvaged a 2-2 draw for Argentina when he scored deep into injury time but the goal was ruled out for offside by VAR when play resumed for a few minutes after a two-hour stoppage to clear the stadium of fans.

Mascherano said there had been a lack of communication from organisers about what was going to happen as the team sat in the Geoffroy Guichard stadium dressing room before the resumption.

"I can't explain what happened. We spent about an hour and a half in the dressing room where they never told us what was going to happen," Mascherano said.

"The Moroccan captains didn't want to play, we didn't want to continue, and fans threw things at us. It's the biggest circus I've ever seen in my life, I don't know why they spent an hour and 20 minutes reviewing a play.

"If there is offside in Medina's goal let the game go on with the momentum we have, I don't think the game should be played for three minutes after an hour and a half."

However, the former Argentina defensive midfielder said he did not want to indulge in excessive complaining and had encouraged his team to focus on their upcoming Group B fixtures against Iraq and Ukraine.

"It's no use complaining, we don't like this kind of thing to happen but we have to turn the page, look for positive things and we will look for the two victories we need to qualify."

Argentina face Iraq next in Lyon on Saturday. 

The fan invasion in the opening match caused chaos, as, after order was restored in Saint-Etienne and the teams had left, they discovered the match had not been completed but suspended by officials.

The venue manager told Reuters the game had been interrupted, adding that a decision about whether the match would be completed was being discussed.

The teams re-emerged onto the pitch to finish the game in an empty stadium, playing for three minutes and 15 seconds after VAR completed its review and disallowed the goal.

"I don't remember something like this happening at this level, that the match is suspended for an hour and a half, warming up for 10 minutes and then play three," Mascherano said.

"What happened on the pitch was a scandal, it's not a neighbourhood tournament, it's the Olympics."

Organisers later said they investigating the causes of the pitch invasion and determining appropriate measures.

Soufiane Rahimi scored twice for Morocco, the second goal from the penalty spot early in the second half, before Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for the 2004 and 2008 gold medallists in the 68th minute.

Hosts France later made a good start to their tournament in Marseille with two goals in eight minutes after the hour mark and a late header from Loic Bade gave them a comfortable 3-0 win over the US.

Captain Alexandre Lacazette sent a big crowd wild with a superb long-range effort to open the scoring before a fine strike from Michael Olise doubled the lead for Thierry Henry's side.

After the drama in St-Etienne, organisers will have been relieved that Israel's Group D opener against Mali at the Parc des Princes in Paris passed off without incident.

The 1-1 draw was played amid tight security because of heightened geopolitical tensions.

Diallo Hamidou's own goal put Israel ahead 11 minutes after the break but Doumbia Cheickna equalised for the African side with a fine header in the 63rd minute.

Earlier at the same venue, Spain beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in the opening match of Group C despite struggling to hit their stride in the opening stages of the game.

Reuters