2024 Paris Olympics: Argentina vs Morocco Debate

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The opening game of the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics games has come and gone but the drama and bitter pill it left in the mouths of many, especially fans of Argentina, cannot be swallowed easily.

A late equalizer by Argentina, deep into the 16-minute additional time was ruled out for offside by VAR after over 75 minutes that the referee's whistle had gone. But what needs to be clear is, what did the referee's whistle that went up signal?

I think some things need to be clear though. When we just put it that the goal was ruled out "two hours after the final whistle had gone", we already create a bias towards it already, making it seem like the game had ended and the the goal was criminally ruled out.

Was the game ended when the referee sounded his whistle? No. The game was paused/abandoned/suspended because of the invasion of the pitch by some fans of Morocco just immediately after Argentina's equalizer, which meant the officials were unable to review the goal at the time.

The game had to be continued (or at least completed), which didn't happen until about two hours later when the pitch had been cleared and the game continued in an empty stadium and that was when the officials could review the goal. The goal was reviewed and ruled offside, meaning Morocco were able to see out the last few minutes of the game without conceding to earn three points in the clash.

No doubt, Morocco and their fans should be punished for their misconduct, but I don't honestly don't see any reason for the fuss around it.

Last season, Manchester United were awarded a penalty kick against Brighton after the final whistle had gone because a handball incident happened before the whistle went. In this case, however, the final whistle had not even gone; the game was only suspended for normalcy to return.

I hope the IOC and FIFA can take necessary actions against Morocco, but their three points were well earned.