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Ugly scenes as football, rugby kick off Paris Olympics ahead of opening ceremony

Argentina came from two down to draw 2-2 with Morocco in a hostile atmosphere on the opening day of men's Olympic football

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Argentina's players look on as water bottles thrown by Morocco fans litter the pitch after Argentina scored their second goal. — AFP

By Reuters

Published: Wed 24 Jul 2024, 8:27 PM

The sporting action at the Paris Olympics kicked off with two football matches on Wednesday, two days before thousands of athletes and artists are set to take part in an ambitious opening ceremony at the heart of the French capital.

After years of preparation, and as more than 10,000 athletes are getting ready for their shot at one of the 329 gold medals that will be up for grabs in 19 days of competition, the first two events of the Paris Games kicked off at 3pm (1300 GMT).

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Spain's men's team took on Uzbekistan at a less than full Parc des Princes in Paris while Argentina, who won the title in 2004 and 2008, were booed by spectators as they played Morocco in the eastern city of Saint-Etienne.

There was more drama as Cristian Medina scored the equaliser in the 16th added minute as Argentina came from two down to draw 2-2 with Morocco in a hostile atmosphere on the opening day of men's Olympic football on Wednesday, while Spain edged Uzbekistan 2-1.

Argentina are looking to win men's football gold for the third time after success in 2004 and 2008, but Javier Mascherano's side came within seconds of defeat in Saint-Etienne.

They were booed as they emerged onto the pitch and during the national anthems by the crowd, the majority of whom were supporting Morocco.

That welcome came after Argentina players were filmed singing racist chants following their victory in the recent Copa America.

Argentina trailed 2-0 in the Group B game to a Soufiane Rahimi brace but pulled one back through Giuliano Simeone before Medina finished off a crazy move right at the death.

Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, the Paris Saint-Germain full-back who is one of the biggest names featuring in the tournament, set up Rahimi for the opener at the end of a fine move in first-half stoppage time.

The reigning African Under-23 champions doubled their lead six minutes into the second half from the penalty spot, UAE-based forward Rahimi stroking in the spot-kick after Ilias Akhomach was brought down.

Argentina coach Mascherano, who starred in the teams that won gold in Athens and Beijing, had at one point hoped to persuade Lionel Messi to feature among the three permitted overage players in his squad otherwise limited to those under 23.

Messi opted not to come to the Paris Games, and the biggest names in their side here were Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez and captain Nicolas Otamendi, the Benfica defender.

Simeone, son of former Argentina star Diego, came off the bench to pull one back midway through the second half, and Medina saved a point in the 106th minute.

Otamendi's shot was turned onto the bar by the goalkeeper and Bruno Amione headed the follow-up off the woodwork, but Medina was on hand to make it third time lucky and secure a draw.

As Argentina celebrated, projectiles including bottles and plastic cups rained down from the stands, and several spectators entered the pitch, with the referee promptly blowing for full-time.

Group B rivals Iraq and Ukraine meet later in Lyon.

Silver medallists in Tokyo three years ago, Spain were made to work hard to beat Uzbekistan in their Group C opener at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino was among the spectators watching a Spain side featuring two members of their Euro 2024-winning squad in Alex Baena and Fermin Lopez.

Spain went ahead just before the half-hour mark when Sergio Gomez's free-kick was helped on by Abel Ruiz to the back post where Marc Pubill turned the ball in.

Uzbekistan had chances and drew level from the penalty spot in first-half added time.

Pau Cubarsi was penalised for a foul in the box following a VAR review and Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov, the Roma forward, converted the penalty.

Cubarsi, the 17-year-old Barcelona prodigy, had been booked early on and did not reappear for the second half.

Spain got a penalty of their own for a foul on Aimar Oroz, but Gomez's kick was saved by goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov.

However, Gomez made up for that by grabbing what proved to be the winner just after the hour.

Juan Miranda cut the ball back for Gomez -- who has just joined Real Sociedad from Manchester City -- to fire in.

Also in Group C are Egypt and the Dominican Republic.

The pick of Wednesday's later games sees hosts France face the United States in Marseille in Group A, with Thierry Henry's team hoping to win a medal despite failing in their attempts to enrol the services of Kylian Mbappe.

Meanwhile, France struggled to live up to pre-tournament billing as favourites for Olympic Gold in rugby sevens on Wednesday, held to a 12-12 draw by the United States to the disappointment of a packed Stade de France.

Double Olympic champions Fiji burnished their own title credentials, swatting aside Uruguay 40-12 with typical Fijian flair.

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Reuters

Published: Wed 24 Jul 2024, 8:27 PM

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