Lionel Messi reacts on social media after Argentina lost their opening match of the Olympic football tournament in controversial fashion.
Lionel Messi has spoken out in a rare and candid comment after witnessing Argentina U23’s unprecedented defeat to Morocco.
La Albiceleste, with stars such as Julian Alvarez and Nicolas Otamendi in their squad, were considered one of the strongest teams in the tournament. However, they were beaten 2-0 by Morocco in Saint-Etienne thanks to a Soufiane Rahimi brace.
Messi was not satisfied with Argentina’s result in the opening match of the 2024 Olympics. Photo: Getty)
In the 90+15 minute, Argentina equalized 2-2 against Morocco. In the 90+16 minute, the match was postponed when fans rushed onto the field and threw strange objects at the Argentine players. The match was postponed for more than 1 hour, after which the organizers announced that the two teams would return to the field without spectators for another three minutes of play.
What was unique was that after more than an hour, Medina’s goal was disallowed for offside after VAR reviewed the situation that happened in the 92nd minute. So the score was 2-1 again. Morocco successfully defended their advantage and won. Messi, who won the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, witnessed the situation and could not hide his disappointment.
Messi surprised by the referee’s decision (Photo: Getty)
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner took to Instagram to share the message: “Insolito” – meaning “Unbelievable” . Messi also added a surprised emoji to express his feelings.
Messi’s long-time team-mate Javier Mascherano, who is now coaching Argentina, expressed his anger at the development. When asked about the incident, he said it was “the biggest circus I have ever seen in my life.” Argentina will continue their campaign on Saturday when they face Iraq in their second Group B match.
