France’s grudge match with Argentina ended in ugly scenes after Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the only goal to put the hosts into the Olympic semi-finals on Friday with a 1-0 win.
Tensions spilled over at full-time in Bordeaux with rival players and staff clashing on the pitch and confrontations continuing down the tunnel.
Friday’s clash was the first meeting of the nations since Argentina players were recorded singing racist chants about their French counterparts as they celebrated winning the Copa America in mid-July.
Meanwhile, FIFA already announced it would investigate the chants, which targeted France’s star striker Kylian Mbappe among others and included racist and homophobic insults.
Crystal Palace striker Mateta struck five minutes into the quarter-final, meeting Michael Olise’s corner with a superb near-post header.
That proved enough for the hosts, coached by Thierry Henry, to reach the last four including Spain, Morocco, and Egypt.
Henry said midfielder Enzo Millot, who had been substituted late on, was shown a red card after the final whistle.
“He wasn’t on the pitch. Maybe you get sent off because you get a second yellow card to stop someone running through on goal, not when you are on the bench. I am really not happy about that,” Henry told broadcaster France 3.
The Argentina team was met with a hostile welcome, where the crowd loudly jeered their national anthem as the sides met for the first time since the 2022 World Cup final, which the South Americans won on penalties.
Giuliano Simeone and Julian Alvarez missed chances for Javier Mascherano’s Argentina, and the exit of the two-time gold medalists means the winner of men’s football gold will not come from Latin America for the first time since Cameroon triumphed in Sydney in 2000.
France could have won by a wider margin, but Olise had a late second goal disallowed for a foul in the build-up.
They will now be heavy favourites to win a semi-final in Lyon on Monday against Egypt, who beat Paraguay 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Marseille.
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