Olympic football CHAOS as Argentina and Morocco are called back out to finish final three minutes of their match... over an HOUR after players walked off with equaliser ruled out after pitch invasion

Argentina and Morocco's players returned to the pitch to finish their opening match of the men's Olympic football tournament over an hour after the match was delayed, as the North Africans eventually earned a 2-1 win in remarkable circumstances.

Both sets of teams were forced to leave the field after Moroccan fans invaded the pitch after Argentina had scored a equalising goal in the 106th minute of the match.

Argentina had fought back from 2-0 down to appear to have snatched a point in the match.

Players were led down the tunnel for their own safety after flare, bottles and cups were thrown at Argentina's celebrating players. Fans were instructed to leave the stadium, with messages on the big screen stating the match had been suspended.

The match was listed as being delayed with the score level at 2-2, with both Argentina and Morocco listing the match as a result on social media. 

In remarkable scenes, players were then recalled to complete the closing stages of the match.

A VAR review on Argentina's goal found that Medina had been offside, with Argentina's equaliser subsequently ruled out.

Players were granted a 20 minute warm-up before a resumption at 7pm local time, four hours after the match had kicked off in Saint-Etienne.

The referee began the resumption of play by confirming Argentina's equalising goal had been ruled out for offside.

Argentina were unable to find another equaliser in the three minutes that were played after the restart, with Morocco celebrating a 2-1 win in extraordinary circumstances. 

Argentina's senior men's captain Lionel Messi, who is not part of the squad at the Olympics, reacted to the match be labelling the situation as 'extraordinary' on social media. 

The pre-match build-up had surrounded the anger from Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez engaging in a racist singalong with the Argentinian national team.

The anger spilled into the Games in France, with missiles forcing their game with Morocco to be suspended.

Argentina were booed by fans at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in St-Etienne but the situation worsened when they equalised 16 minutes into stoppage time. 

A goal from Giuliano Simeone and a stoppage time effort from Cristian Medina saw Argentina fight back to appear to have levelled the match. 

Medina's stoppage time goal was followed by a pitch invasion from some Moroccan fans, while firecrackers, flares and bottles were thrown as Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg told the players to leave the pitch. 

A message was displayed at the stadium, reading 'your session has been suspended, please leave the stadium'.

Players were then recalled to complete the match behind closed doors with fans having left the venue.

Medina's goal was disallowed upon the resumption, with Morocco leading through two Soufiane Rahimi efforts. 

There were more than four hours between the start of the match and the final whistle. 

And just over an hour after kick-off in the football, Argentina's rugby sevens side were loudly booed ahead of their clash against Kenya.

The boos drowning out the anthem came just over a week after Chelsea footballer Fernandez filmed himself and his Argentina team-mates singing a chant directed at France's black players following their Copa America triumph.

The song, which also singles out Kylian Mbappe, was condemned by the French Football Federation who filed a complaint to FIFA.

Fernandez's Chelsea team-mate Wesley Fofana also reposted the video and labelled the chant 'uninhibited racism' before unfollowing Fernandez on Instagram.

Two other Chelsea players - Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi - also unfollowed Fernandez.

The midfielder subsequently apologised for the video and insisted he is not racist, while Chelsea reacted by condemning 'all forms of discriminatory behaviour' prior to conducting their own investigation.

But fans inside the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium and the Stade de France had clearly not forgotten what has gone on in recent days, and made their feelings clear how they felt about the behaviour of the Argentina footballers last week.

France's former football captain Hugo Lloris described the controversial song as an 'attack on French people' this week and urged that it was a mistake that must been learned from.

'It doesn't matter if you are in a moment of euphoria because you have won an important trophy,' he told BBC Sport. 'It demands even more responsibility when you are a winner.

'You don't want to hear or see this kind of thing in football. We all stand against discrimination and racism.

'I just think and hope it is a mistake. We all make mistakes sometimes and hopefully they will learn from it.'

Relations between France and Argentina worsened after the tense and enthralling 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, which saw Lionel Messi and Co narrowly win on penalties following a 3-3 draw.

Kylian Mbappe, who netted a hat-trick in the showpiece, was ruthlessly mocked as part of Argentina's overjubilant celebrations.

Despite playing a key role in Argentina's World Cup and Copa America triumphs, Fernandez is not playing at the Olympics and is currently enjoying time away from the pitch ahead of the new season with Chelsea.

He was paraded at his old club River Plate over the weekend, only for the whole crowd to start singing the chant aimed at France's black players once more.

The chaotic scenes in France coincided with Chelsea’s new head coach Enzo Maresca using his first press conference in the United States to play down talk of Fernandez’s footage disrupting their pre-season preparations, claiming they will encounter no issues when he returns. 

Speaking out in the US where Chelsea are currently on their pre-season tour, Maresca said: 'The player did a statement, apologised, and the club did the same. I don't think there is something to add, the situation is already clear.'

Asked if there will be problems bringing him back into the squad, Maresca added: 'I don't think so, to be honest. At the end, they are all human beings, I don't think there are any bad intentions from any one of them.

'When Enzo is back, I don't think we will have any problems, the player already clarified the situation, and the club did the same. There is nothing to add.

'He is not a bad human being. It can happen, I don't think there are any problems at all. I spoke with Enzo, I spoke with a lot of them. The player has made a statement and apologised, it is clear.'

Reece James also broached the subject as the Chelsea captain said: 'Enzo acknowledged he did wrong and apologised to the club and the team. I have spoken to Enzo and everyone involved but those conversations have to stay in house.'