FIFA has rejected Argentina’s appeal against its 2-1 loss to Morocco on the first day of the 2024 Olympic Games Football tournament played on Wednesday at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in Saint-Étienne, France.
The Argentina Football Association (AFA) protested against the referee’s decision, after reverting to VAR, to cancel the Albiceleste’s equalizing goal in extra time (90+16) for a clear offside position.
The Argentinians, world champions and recent Copa America winners, also pointed to Moroccan fans invading the pitch in protest of Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg’s contentious decisions, which were widely criticized by sports pundits and commentators worldwide.
After irate supporters descended on the pitch, Nyberg suspended the game for his own and the players’ safety.
Following significant debate with the Organizing Committee and the IOC, the two teams resumed play after a nearly two-hour break.
The Swedish referee, who had not blown the final whistle, reverted to VAR, which invalidated the Argentine goal. The two teams then played an extra three minutes, which did not bring anything new to the scoreboard, but provoked the ire of the Argentinians, who have not digested their defeat by Morocco.
Morocco is sharing the 1st position of the B group with Iraq after the latter won Ukraine in their first game 2-1.