The video assistant referee (VAR) technology saved Morocco's Olympic team from losing their victory against Argentina in the first round of the group stage of the football competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Moroccan fans present at the Gauffriau Gauscher Stadium expressed their anger over a suspected offside in Argentina's equalizing goal in the last seconds of the match.
Moroccan fans stormed the pitch, throwing bottles at the Argentine players and launching smoke bombs and fireworks at the Argentine bench. A reporter from the Argentine channel TYC noted that Argentine players had to stay in the locker room for a while until the decision to conclude the match was confirmed after the Moroccan fans stormed the field.
After more than two hours, the referee decided to resume the match by reviewing Argentina's second goal using VAR. The referee subsequently annulled Argentina's second goal due to offside, and the match was resumed for three minutes without any fans present, before the referee blew the whistle, declaring a 2-1 victory for the Atlas Lions.
Morocco's Olympic team failed to secure a historic first win against a Latin American team, settling for a dramatic equalizer in the last minute during the first round of the Olympic football finals in Paris 2024 for men. The Lions took the lead thanks to a brace from Sofyan Rahimi of Al Ain FC in the 45th and 51st minutes, while Argentina's goals came from Giuliano Simeone and Cristian Medina in the 68th and 90th minutes, respectively, preventing Morocco from obtaining their first victory against a Latin American team in an official tournament.
Morocco's first chance came from a shot by Akhoumatch that went just past Argentina's goal, followed by Rahimi missing an easy chance after delaying his run inside the box. Argentina's attempts were spearheaded by Manchester City's Julián Álvarez, who was shadowed by Achraf Hakimi and Azzouz, who played as a center-back unusually.
In a vital moment at the end of the first half, the Moroccan team managed to reflect their dominance with a goal from Rahimi, assisted superbly by Bilal Khannous. Morocco was the better side at the start of the second half, earning a penalty which Rahimi executed, marking his second goal in the 50th minute and becoming the first Moroccan player to score a brace in Olympic history.
Argentina reacted with a goal to reduce the deficit from Giuliano Simeone in the 68th minute. Strong resistance from the Moroccan players ensued in the final minutes until Cristian Medina leveled the score for Argentina after a scramble in defense and a rebound off the post. This draw deprived Morocco of their first victory against Latin American teams, which would have strengthened their chances of competing for one of the two qualification spots from this group.
