New Delhi: France eliminated Argentina during the quarter-finals of Paris Olympics Men’s football. Tensions had been boiling between the two sides for weeks, and it all seemed to have come down to the all-important knockout game. The brawl kept spreading throughout the pitch immediately after the final whistle was blown, as none of the players were backing down from a confrontation.
France won 1-0 after Jean-Philppe Mateta scored for his side in the 5th minute. Celebrations from France soon saw Enzo Millot provoke his opponents and earned him a post-match red card. The incident had enraged Argentina’s players, and every member of both sides got involved in an altercation. Alexandre Lacazette needed to be restrained physically to avoid any further conflicts. The whole incident has led to many fans quipping the France and Argentina rivalry as one of the most intense ones in the international football arena.
All of us can now agree that the biggest football rivalry at the national team level is now Argentina vs France.
It is now looking like an eye for an eye. Another fight btw them after the final whistle in the QF of the Olympic which France won.#Paris2024… pic.twitter.com/RVXj2rwfFG
— Jagaban_MCFC 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@mcfc_jagaban) August 2, 2024
Last month, some senior members of Argentina’s Copa America winning team were recorded on video singing a racist song directed towards France’s players with African heritage. It had sparked an international outrage. Though the Argentina side in the Olympics is mostly U-23, with only three players coming from the Copa America triumphant squad, the two sides met for the first time since the incident.
Though players, including Loic Bade, Mateta, and Millot, said that they saw it as a match to settle scores as their country felt “insulted,” coach Thierry Henry voiced a different opinion. Henry apologized for his side’s behaviour and said they didn’t look at the game as revenge of any kind. He also felt ashamed of the chaos, but the whole incident was beyond his control.
Millot, who will face suspension during France’s semi-final game, said that the hype of the game had given them a boost to perform well. It was Bade’s action of muscling Argentina’s substitute Lucas Beltran during the 10 minutes of added time that it was clear the two sides were seething for an altercation. The Sevilla centre-back leaned towards Beltran and aimed words towards him. After the game, Bade mentioned that Argentina players had been insulting the French side throughout the game with gestures, which ultimately led to the chaos.
Argentina had previously tried to equalise the effort from France with a spooned effort from Beltran and a half-sitter from Giuliano Simeone, but they fell short of finishing well. From the very start, Argentina felt the heat with French fans whistling during the Argentine national anthem and booing as Argentina’s players’ names were being read, especially for Julian Alvarez and Nicolas Otamendi, two of the three players coming into the squad from Copa. France will now face Argentina during the semi-final clash.
French and Argentinian player were involved in a brawl after the latter was eliminated from the Men’s football Olympics in the quarter-finals. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
