Initially good-natured and warm-hearted, the celebrations turned to confusion on Wednesday at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, where the match between Argentina and Morocco was interrupted for 1 hour and 50 minutes after a pitch invasion, before being resumed and finally ruled in the favour of the Atlas Lions.
Bottles and cups were thrown, the pitch was invaded, firecrackers were burst and the game was interrupted for almost two hours. Once again, soccer showed its worst side.
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The city of Saint-Étienne was decked out in red for this match between two football-mad nations. Strolling through the warm, sunny streets of the Forez town, where dozens of red shirts were worn by fans of all ages, men, women and children, it was easy to imagine that the stadium would be well behind Morocco against the world champions.
As for the Argentinians, they were more discreet. On the road leading from the Châteaucreux train station to the stadium, where Moroccan fans in vehicles honked their horns at those on foot, we came across Ricardo, in his fifties, from Barcelona, donning a cap on his head and sky-and-white jersey on his shoulders, who was looking forward to cheering on Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez and his team-mates in the mythical Chaudron.
The stadium wasn't completely full, but in the end proved to be as lively as at a Les Verts match, with over 30,000 Moroccans giving their voices to support their team. While the Argentinian anthem was whistled, the Moroccan anthem rang out in an atmosphere tinged with emotion and fervour, while the cheers, chants and whistles of the Lions' supporters were deafening throughout the match.
And just as Morocco were heading for a prestigious victory following a Soufiane Rahimi brace (45th+2, 49th), Giuliano Simeone reduced the gap (68th) and then Cristian Medina thought he had snatched an equaliser at the end of unusually long extra time (90th+16). The goal angered some of the Moroccan fans, who threw cups and bottles of water onto the pitch in the direction of the Albiceleste players, while a firecracker exploded near the Argentine bench. The referee then asked the players to return to the changing rooms in the confusion, while the pitch was invaded by around twenty fans "from both teams" according to the authorities, who were quickly repelled by the security services. Already during the match, three minors had entered the pitch to take selfies with the players before being removed by stewards.
"The feeling is horrible, the truth is that never in my career as a footballer and then as a coach have I experienced a similar situation," said Argentina coach Javier Mascherano.
The stadium emptied, with many of the spectators thinking the match had ended in a draw. We soon learned that the match had simply been interrupted. An interruption that would last for over an hour and a half, before the players resumed the match for five minutes and thirty-five seconds. "When we got back on the pitch, the referee blew his whistle, went to VAR and told us it was offside and therefore not a goal," explained Le Havre midfielder Yassine Kechta. "It was a very long wait, we were waiting like everyone else, we didn't know."
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There was intense joy on the Moroccan bench when the Swedish referee, Glenn Swe Nyberg, announced his decision. Bilal El Khannouss, for his part, regretted the attitude of the fans who entered the pitch: "Things like that shouldn't normally happen," breathed the Genk midfielder, who went on to express his dismay at the match scenario. "Already fifteen minutes of added time, it was really unbelievable," he continued. "We didn't feel that the wait had lasted almost two hours, but it was long. We were told we had to wait for the referee to make a decision, for the police to make a decision, that we were going to stop the match and then resume it by looking at the VAR. We stayed calm. We all suffered together, but in the end we got the three points and we're very happy."
On the Argentinian side, the mood was obviously far less positive, with coach Javier Mascherano expressing his incomprehension. "The feeling is horrible. The truth is that never in my career as a footballer and then as a coach have I experienced a similar situation," lamented the former Barca midfielder. "The match was suspended, and Morocco didn't want to play. The captain's decision was not to play. As time went by, different versions began to emerge. What's annoying is interrupting the match. As soon as the match ends, the action has to be reviewed. At no point are we told that the goal is invalid."
Later that evening, Saint-Étienne's public prosecutor David Charmatz informed us that no arrests had been made as a result of the incidents, nor had anyone been injured. Calm finally returned fairly quickly, and the evening ended in jubilation in the Place Jean-Jaurès, packed to the rafters with people, where the Moroccan victory was celebrated as it should have been.
(L'Équipe)
