Argentina manager Javier Mascherano was left furious at the end of his team's chaotic 2-1 defeat to Morocco in the opening match of the Paris Olympics men's football tournament, describing the scenes as a "circus".
Soufiane Rahimi, the Al Ain forward who starred in the UAE club's Asian Champions League triumph, had scored twice for Morocco, once in first-half injury time and early in the second half from the penalty spot to give the North African side a 2-0 lead.
After Giuliano Simeone halved the deficit midway through the second half, two-time gold medallists Argentina thought they had salvaged a remarkable 2-2 draw in the Group B match in Saint-Etienne when Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of added time.
But crowd trouble ensued and the players were taken off the pitch before Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg had blown for full time.
For some time the outcome of the match was unclear, with the official IOC website indicating it had ended. But the teams finally reappeared two hours later to play out three more minutes in a stadium by now emptied of spectators.
Medina's goal was also eventually disallowed for offside following a VAR review, and Morocco held on to claim all three points.
"I have not been a coach for long, but never in my career as a player have I seen a situation like that," said Mascherano, who was in the Argentina teams that won the gold medal in 2004 and 2008.
"It is a circus. But that is how it is. We cannot control it. I told the boys that now we need to look forward, try to get the six points that will allow us to qualify and that all this should fill us with energy and anger for what we have ahead of us."
Mascherano said the captains of the two teams had agreed not to restart the game after Medina put the ball in the net, as projectiles including plastic cups and bottles rained down and spectators invaded the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard pitch.
"The captains decided not to play on at that point, and as time went on different versions (of events) started to appear," he said.
"The annoying thing is that the match was suspended. If you are going to review something, review it just after the incident," he said of Medina's disallowed goal, which appeared to be the equaliser after Giuliano Simeone had earlier pulled one back.
"At no point were we told the goal was not valid."
Of the decision to bring the players back out later on to complete the match, he added: "They called Fifa. I don't know who took it, but everyone was involved.
"It is a disgrace that this should happen and poison the tournament. This wouldn't even happen in a neighbourhood tournament. It's pathetic.
"Beyond the Olympic spirit, the organisation needs to be up to standard and at the moment, unfortunately, it is not."
Argentina are due to play their second match on Saturday in Lyon against Iraq, with Morocco playing Ukraine in Saint-Etienne the same day.
Iraq joined Morocco on three points after beating Ukraine 2-1.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
Mountain Classification Tour de France after Stage 8 on Saturday:
- 1. Lilian Calmejane (France / Direct Energie) 11
- 2. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana) 10
- 3. Daniel Martin (Ireland / Quick-Step) 8
- 4. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / LottoNL) 8
- 5. Warren Barguil (France / Sunweb) 7
- 6. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 6
- 7. Guillaume Martin (France / Wanty) 6
- 8. Jan Bakelants (Belgium / AG2R) 5
- 9. Serge Pauwels (Belgium / Dimension Data) 5
- 10. Richie Porte (Australia / BMC Racing) 4
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MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
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Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
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