For Lionel Messi, it is clearly easier to protest against the incredible defeat of the Argentine Olympic team (of his friend Javier Mascherano) than to denounce an absolutely racist chant sung by some of his teammates in the team bus (and broadcast by Enzo Fernandez on social networks).
“Unusual”which can rather be translated as “improbable” in French, is what “La Pulga” wrote in a story on Instagramwith a surprised emoji, Wednesday afternoon.
Argentina’s football world has indeed been completely bowled over by the epic outcome of the Albiceleste’s first match at the Paris 2024 Olympics football tournament. A 2-1 defeat against Morocco, in Saint-Etienne, sealed four hours after the game kicked off! The Argentine Espoirs equalized with an incredible move in the 106th minute of the game (there was a minimum of 15 minutes of added time announced), but Cristian Medina’s goal was clearly offside.
Messi supports Mascherano
In the wake of this terrible equalizer, Atlas Lions supporters then threw cups and even a firecracker onto the Chaudron pitch. Some Argentinian players were shocked by one of the explosions. The referee, the Swede Nyberg, then called the players into the locker room, but had clearly interrupted the game, as the official Olympic website clearly stated. However, the match delegates quickly informed The Team that there were still three minutes to play. Problem: both teams refused to return to the field.
Finally, an hour and a half later, in an empty Geoffroy-Guichard, the two teams returned to the field and the referee followed protocol: he alerted the players in the game that he would see the images of the goal, and thus disallowed the goal for offside. Three minutes later, or 1 hour and 50 minutes after the match was stopped, the Moroccans led by Achraf Hakimi won. “The biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life”complained Mascherano, a great friend of Leo Messi. The result is nevertheless fair.
