PARIS: Senior team skipper Lionel Messi expressed his surprise after Argentina’s controversial defeat in their Paris Olympics opener against Morocco on Wednesday.

The Argentina squad comprising Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez lost 1-2 against a game Morocco side as the first day of the footballing action went down in infamy after fans invaded the pitch, protesting Argentina’s equalizer in the dying moments of added time. The protests forced the match to be suspended before resuming after two hours.

Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi had scored both goals for the Atlas Lions, first in the 45+2 mins and then again from the penalty spot to double his side’s lead. Giovanni Simeone would pull one back for Argentina but the La Albiceleste couldn’t find another goal till the 16th minute of added time when it appeared that Cristian Medina had equalized for the 2008 Olympics gold medal winners.

Fans then invaded the stadium while bottles and objects were thrown at the Argentina players, forcing the officials to suspend the match for the time being. After order was restored in Saint-Etienne and the teams had left the field, they discovered that the match had not been completed but suspended by officials. The final seconds were later played behind closed doors.

‘Insolito’

Messi’s reaction to the controversy on his Instagram account. Messi’s reaction to the controversy on his Instagram account.

Messi, not part of the second-string Argentine side, took to Instagram to post a story with the Spanish word ‘Insolito’. The word translates to ‘unusual’ or ‘uncommon’ in English.

Argentina coach Javier Mascherano termed the whole fiasco as a circus. “The biggest circus I have ever seen in my life,” he said after the match.

The 37-year-old Messi recently led the Albiceleste to the Copa America 2024 title win. Messi, who suffered an ankle injury during the final, was not part of the Olympics squad as the Games allows only three senior players in the squad besides the U-23 team. Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi and Geronimo Rulli form the senior trio in the Argentina squad.

Agencies

Agencies