The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic’s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox.
Welcome to Thursday — but wait a minute, there is a VAR check taking place to see if Wednesday is still going on. That’s been the high drama at the Olympics… Also coming up:
👓 Spygate 3.0? A new controversy
🔄 Two big Arsenal transfers (and a new kit)
👬 Locker-room dynamics explained
Olympic-Sized Chaos
(Arnaud Finistre/AFP via Getty Images)
What happened in Argentina vs Morocco?
Boy oh boy, the Olympics have not waited to deliver drama. The ending of Wednesday’s match between Argentina and Morocco was utterly/gloriously/embarrassingly chaotic (delete depending on your personal feeling).
Briefly, the crowd was on the pitch, a goal was controversially ruled out, and a two-hour delay ensued — luckily, The Athletic had Ali Rampling to explain.
Pre-match, Argentina’s anthem was booed — after last week’s Copa America win, Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez live-streamed his team-mates chanting a song with derogatory references to France internationals of African descent. Morocco have several French-born players in their squad.
Until stoppage time, this had been a fairly normal match — at least as far as Argentina games go. But with 15 minutes of stoppage time ordered, and Morocco leading 2-1, Argentina appeared to score a late, late equaliser in the 106th minute, with Cristian Medina heading in after successive shots hit the bar.
Improbably, this was only the start of the drama.
Why was the game stopped?
As the Argentinians celebrated, cups and bottles were thrown at them, flares were set off, while several Morocco fans ran onto the pitch and were chased by stewards. Players swiftly left the pitch with riot police nearby.
The game appeared to have ended at 4.10pm BST/11.10am ET, with the official Olympics match blog stating the game had ended. The big screen said it had been suspended.
However, 90 minutes later, news broke that Argentina’s equaliser had been ruled out for an offside (see below). Players returned to the pitch shortly after 6pm BST/1pm ET. Three minutes of added time were played in an empty stadium before the final whistle was blown, nearly two hours after many thought the match was over.
On the decision-making process, FIFA referred The Athletic to Paris 2024, which said the game “was suspended due to a pitch invasion by a small number of spectators… Paris 2024 is working with the relevant stakeholders to understand the causes and identify appropriate actions”.
What was the reaction?
Confusion — followed by anger or relief, depending on your persuasion. Argentina head coach Javier Mascherano could be heard shouting “circus” from the touchline, saying he was never told about a VAR review — he insisted the match was suspended because of security.
“The referee never came, he never gave us an explanation,” he said. “What happened on the pitch was scandalous. It’s not a local tournament, it’s the Olympic Games.”
Lionel Messi, watching on, posted “Insolito” on his Instagram account — translating to “unbelievable”. It certainly was that.
News Round-Up
Michael Olise makes it 2-0! 💥 💥
Lacazette turns provider this time as the Bayern Munich new boy curls home France’s second. They’re well on their way at #Paris2024 in their opener v USA.#BBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/dyprovlKZt
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 24, 2024
What a strike by Michael Olise! 💥
France double their lead and the home fans are loving it. #ParisOlympics
📺 USA & Peacock pic.twitter.com/QsimLuDvPg
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 24, 2024
Spying: A History
(Getty Images; design by Eamonn Dalton)
Canada, New Zealand, what’s going on?
You thought we were done on Olympic drama? Think again! The last few days have been dominated by a spying scandal involving the Canadian women’s football team — which re-erupted on Wednesday.
Another controversy — another handy explainer, courtesy of Mark Puleo and Meg Linehan.
Canada are reigning gold medallists but, on Tuesday, ahead of their opening game against New Zealand, a drone was seen over their opponent’s training session.
On-site law enforcement traced the drone, and found its controller held in the hands of (duh, duh, duh) Joseph Lombardi, who worked as an “unaccredited analyst” with the Canadian women’s team.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) apologised, but it subsequently came to light that another training session had been recorded on July 19 — this was serious.
Lombardi and Jasmine Mander, an assistant coach who oversees Lombardi, were sent home from the Olympics, while head coach Bev Priestman voluntarily stepped aside from coaching today’s game, citing her “commitment to integrity”.
She was unable to explicitly state whether she knew about the drone. FIFA said it would investigate all potentially involved parties.
Has this happened before?
Yes! I spent some time writing about this on Wednesday afternoon — spying is almost as old as the offside rule.
Here’s a potted history of sporting espionage, featuring interns in bushes, kit men in the roof, and even references to the New England Patriots and Michigan Football. Enjoy.
🎙 The women’s Olympic tournament starts today — get the Full Time podcast after every U.S. match and the newsletter the next day
Arsenal’s Africa-Themed Kit
What is the story behind their away kit?
Arsenal drew 1-1 with Bournemouth in Los Angeles last night — and you might have noticed their new away kit.
Mainly black, with red and green details to mimic the Pan-African flag, the strip is intended to highlight Arsenal’s connection with Black culture.
The Athletic’s Dan Barnes explains here why Arsenal have a unique history — from the black heroes who have played at Highbury and the Emirates, to the Black communities in London which have gravitated towards supporting the club.
Created by Black-founded menswear brand Labrum, and produced by Adidas, its manufacturers boast it was “designed by an immigrant”, with black-and-white zigzag panels also intended to represent emigration from African nations in the 1920s and the art that came with them.
“Talking to Arsenal and Adidas, they’ve both always pioneered Black culture, Black history,” says designer Foday Dumbuya. “We thought it’s a relationship and collaboration that was bound to happen.”
Locker-Room Dynamics
How will Mbappe fit in at Real Madrid?
As European champions, Real Madrid are arguably the best club side in the world — and this summer, possibly the world’s best player arrives at the Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappe will be walking into a dressing room which already features the star power of Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham, and Luka Modric. The 25-year-old, who was king of Paris, now has new surroundings.
Madrid may have outstanding players — and The Athletic has covered their tactics in detail here and in video form (see above) — but even outstanding players only win as many games as Madrid do if they are a tight-knit group willing to fight for each other.
This is how their dressing room operates, from car-pooling, to player-led barbecues, to the influence of head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s son Davide. Guillermo Rai reports on how Mbappe will settle in.
Catch A Match
Olympics, women’s soccer: Canada vs New Zealand (11am ET / 4pm BST) — Peacock / Eurosport; This should be a tasty one (see above).
Olympics, women’s soccer: United States vs Zambia (3pm ET / 8pm BST) — USA Network / Eurosport; This will be Emma Hayes’ first competitive match in charge of the USWNT — here’s our preview of the challenge she’s facing.
(Top photo: Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
