An early goal was enough for France to beat Argentina, 1-0, and reach the men’s soccer semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday, in a match where fighting broke out between the players immediately after the final whistle, Report informs via Fox Sports.
There was shoving for a couple of minutes before the players were broken up. Some France players appeared to sprint down the tunnel moments later. But they came back out a short time later and did a lap of honor.
Argentina’s players were booed throughout the match by a hostile crowd, which celebrated early on when striker Jean-Philippe Mateta headed home in the fifth minute for coach Thierry Henry’s team, which will face Egypt in the last four on Monday in Lyon.
Mateta was celebrating with captain Alexandre Lacazette when they noticed the skirmish. Lacazette rushed back to help break it up, as did Henry and counterpart Javier Mascherano, who appeared to block one of his own staff members from joining in.
"I went to shake the opposing coach’s hand and all of a sudden I saw a lot of things happening," Henry said. "I don’t like seeing this kind of thing. It wasn’t necessary."
As France fans continued celebrating, stewards and a handful of riot police formed a ring around the pocket of Argentina fans inside the stadium.
A racism scandal had heightened pre-match tensions, following a video of Argentina players singing an offensive song about French players of African heritage as they celebrated their Copa America victory last month.