After a tense 1-0 victory in Bordeaux, the hosts advanced to the Olympic semifinals. At full time, players and staff from France and Argentina got into an altercation on the field.
Following the final whistle, there were brutal altercations on the field between coaching staff and replacements, which escalated tensions.
With a header in the fifth minute, Jean-Philippe Mateta ended the match and booked Egypt’s spot in the round of four. Following the final whistle, Enzo Millot of France was shown a red card.
Following their Copa America victory last month, Argentina’s players were caught on camera uttering a disparaging chant regarding the ancestry of France’s black players. This led to the images that were seen.
And in Bordeaux, where the home crowd was vociferously jeering Argentina’s national song before to kickoff, tensions were running hot from the off.
Thierry Henry, the head coach of France, denounced the obscene events that occurred at the end of the match. However, Argentina’s main man, Nicolas Otamendi, accused France’s Loic Balde of offending the families of the Albiceleste players who were sitting in the seats.
“It makes me very angry,” the former Manchester City defender remarked. They are free to celebrate and behave as they choose, but it is not appropriate for them to go where their family and supporters are.
Les joueurs de l'équipe de France qui viennent chambrer (enfin provoquer) les supporters argentins pic.twitter.com/Nu1718HVLt
— Florent Torchut (@FlorentTorchut) August 2, 2024
‘There was a guy, I don’t even know his name? Balde, Bade? I don’t know what, if he wants to party, let him come straight to where we are and we’ll sort it out.
‘We’ll talk about everything we have to talk about. It makes me angry. It’s not good. The truth is, it makes me angry.
‘He celebrated the victory in front of our substitutes. I didn’t really understand what was happening, then I realised he was there.
‘It’s one thing to party on the field, with your team. But I don’t like that.’
Former Montpellier goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli also attacked the French players and said ‘Sometimes there are players who don’t know how to win and this is what happens.
‘It was completely avoidable, it’s not a good image for anyone. As Argentinians, we know that when we win, we celebrate with our people and when we lose, we congratulate our opponents and go home.
‘The truth is that some players don’t know how to do that. We had nothing to reproach ourselves for.’