The Argentine Football Association (AFA) announced it will present a complaint in front of FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, following the events at the Albiceleste’s debut in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a communiqué released on Wednesday, AFA stated that the complaint was aimed at ensuring that “the necessary sanctions for such a serious issue” were passed, adding that these disciplinary measures were “required to guarantee the safety of the players in order to play football.”
On Wednesday, the Argentine Olympic football team got a last-minute 2-2 tie in its debut against Morocco. Immediately after the goal, the match was suspended when Moroccan fans invaded the pitch and set off a loud firecracker, which caused the Argentine players to run back to their locker room.
The game was seemingly over and the end result was confirmed on the Olympics official site. But then images confirming an off-side position during Argentina’s final play were seen in the official broadcast, leading to the referee announcing that the game would be resumed.
Argentina’s case is that under FIFA regulations — the rules under which all professional games are played — the game shouldn’t have been resumed following the pitch invasion and that the goal shouldn’t have been disallowed.
AFA president Claudio Tapia took to X to give his views on the incident, which he labeled “regrettable”.
“Waiting almost two hours in the dressing rooms after a pitch invasion and the violence the Argentine team suffered, and then making our players go back and warm up to play in a game that should’ve been suspended, was a nonsensical decision that goes against the rules of the game,” wrote Tapia.
After the game, which ended in a 2-1 Morocco win, Argentina head coach Javier Mascherano called the events “the biggest circus I’ve seen in my life” and insisted that neither his players nor the Moroccans wished to continue playing.
Contacted by the Herald, the Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) said it had “no comment” on the matter.