FIFA announced on Thursday that it will launch an investigation into possible regulation violations that marred the Argentina-Morocco Olympic football match on Wednesday for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games soccer tournament, according to an official statement.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided … to appoint an integrity expert to support the necessary investigations into the potential breaches of the FIFFA regulations following the incidents that took place during the match between the representative teams of Argentina and Morocco played on 24 July 2024 in the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne, France, in the context of the group stage of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024,” reads the statement.
The decision to investigate was made in accordance with Article 36 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. FIFA has pledged to provide further updates on the findings of the investigation in due course.
For context, Article 36 of the Disciplinary Code states that the appointed integrity expert may request the opening of disciplinary proceedings and propose that disciplinary measures be imposed on member associations, clubs, and individuals.
FIFA’s statement was made after Moroccan fans stormed the pitch at the end of the opening match of the Olympic football tournament between Argentina and Morocco.
The match was halted shortly before it was set to end after Argentina scored a contested equalizer in the 16th minute of stoppage time.
In response, the Argentine Football Association has reportedly filed a complaint with FIFA, calling on FIFA’s disciplinary committee to take action regarding the incident, describing it as a serious event.
