Paris Olympics 2024: Argentina Football Team Robbed Ahead Of Tumultuous Game Against Morocco
27 july 2024
The Argentina men’s football team faced a tumultuous start to their Olympic campaign, with their training base being robbed before their chaotic tournament-opening loss to Morocco on Wednesday. The Argentinean delegation promptly filed a police complaint in Lyon, as confirmed by the prosecutor’s office of nearby Saint-Etienne on Thursday. “They went into training and robbed us, in the Olympic Games,” stated head coach Javier Mascherano. “We didn’t want to say anything after training, I don’t think it helps anything. But obviously, it’s a bit disagreeable that these kinds of things happen.” Among the items stolen was midfielder Thiago Almada’s watch, according to Mascherano.
Argentina, which won Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008, has had a troubled start to this year’s tournament. The opening game in Saint-‰tienne descended into chaos when Morocco fans stormed the pitch and threw bottles in protest of an equalizing goal by Cristian Medina in the 16th minute of added time. The goal was later ruled offside. The game was suspended for nearly two hours before fans were instructed to leave Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, and Morocco held on during the final three minutes of the match after it resumed.
Argentine media labelled the incident “ridiculous” and “a scandal,” while Mascherano called it “a circus.” The country’s football federation has issued a formal protest to FIFA, vowing to take “necessary” measures to ensure player safety.
What happened on the field was a scandal. This isn’t a neighborhood tournament, these are the Olympic Games,” Mascherano emphasized. Argentina Football Association president Claudio Tapia expressed outrage over the handling of the situation. “Having to wait almost two hours in the dressing room, after Morocco fans entered the pitch, the violence that the Argentina delegation suffered, our players having to warm up again and continue to play a match that should have been suspended by the main referee, is really something that makes no sense and that goes against the competition rules,” Tapia said.