Former Liverpool star rages as Olympic opener descends into 'biggest circus of my life'

There was chaos at the Olympic games on Wednesday as a match descended into chaos. One former Liverpool player was caught in the middle of it all.

Javier Mascherano called Argentina's Olympic opener against Morocco "the biggest circus [he's] ever seen in [his] life" as his side lost 2-1 in Paris. It was a game like no other, really, as the North African side claimed a historic win.

But it will be remembered far more for the chaos around it.

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Morocco took a 2-0 lead here, forcing Argentina into a fight-back. They mounted one, too, as Giuliano Simeone pulled one back on 68 minutes.

The World and South American champions then pushed for another goal and finally got the ball into the back of the net through Christian Medina sixteen minutes into injury time. An unbelievably late goal, then, and one many Morocco fans simply couldn't handle.

Several invaded the pitch and threw firecrackers and bottles at the Argentine bench. The referee blew his whistle as a result, leading many to believe he'd ended the game (including FIFA's own website).

But he hadn't. Instead, the players were taken off the pitch and the next 90 minutes saw the stadium completely cleared of fans. The two teams were then brought back onto the pitch to play out the final three minutes of stoppage time.

Not before VAR ruled out the equaliser. That's right - the goal that prompted all of this didn't even count.

Mascherano fumes at officials

“I can’t explain what happened. We spent about an hour and a half in the dressing room where they never told us what was going to happen,” Argentina boss Mascherano said after the game.

“The Moroccan captains didn’t want to play, we didn’t want to continue, and fans threw things at us. It’s the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life, I don’t know why they spent an hour and 20 minutes ­reviewing a play.

"If there is offside in Medina’s goal let the game go on with the momentum we have, I don’t think the game should be played for three minutes after an hour and a half.”

And that's not even all of it.

Mascherano also revealed that his team had been burgled during a training session.

"Yesterday they entered our training and robbed us. Thiago Almada was missing a watch, rings, and everything at training at the Olympics. We didn't want to say anything after training." said Mascherano, via ESPN FC.

An absolute farce, then, and one that means the Olympic football tournament gets off to a horrendous start. Of course, Liverpool fans won't be shocked, having dealt with security in Paris during the 2024 UEFA Champions League final.

That was a disaster and things don't appear to have improved.

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