Argentina match against Morocco suspended as fans invade pitch

PARIS :Argentina's Cristian Medina scored a last-gasp goal to salvage what looked like a 2-2 draw with Morocco before fans invaded the pitch and stopped play as confusion reigned on the first day of action in Group B of the men's soccer tournament at the Olympics on Wednesday.

After order was restored in Saint-Etienne and the teams had left the field, they discovered that the match had not been completed but suspended by officials.

The venue manager told Reuters the game had been interrupted and had not resumed yet, adding that a decision about whether the match would be completed was being discussed.

The Olympics website also showed the match as "interrupted".

The teams re-emerged into an empty stadium about two hours later, with the match scheduled to restart at 7:00 p.m. local time so the final seconds could be played.

The gold medal winners in 2004 and 2008 were not at their best despite lining up with recent Copa America winners Julian Alvarez, Nicolas Otamendi and Geronimo Rulli.

Soufiane Rahimi put Morocco ahead after Achraf Hakimi set him up from the right following a superb passing move in the final seconds of the first half.

Rahimi doubled the advantage and netted his second from the penalty spot in the 49th minute before Giuliano Simeone pulled one back for Javier Mascherano's side in the 68th.

Medina then found the net 16 minutes into stoppage time before fans stormed the pitch and objects were thrown at players as chaos erupted in the French eastern city.

Spain beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in their opening match of Group C at the Parc de Princes.

Spain, who struggled to hit their stride in the opening stages of the game, took the lead in the 29th minute against Uzbekistan with a close-range finish from Marc Pubill off Abel