Argentina superstar left furious as French players targeted players' families in Olympics 2024

Players and personnel from France and Argentina got into a physical altercation on the field at the end of the match, as the hosts prevailed 1-0 in Bordeaux to advance to the Paris Olympics 2024 semifinals. With a header in the fifth minute, Jean-Philippe Mateta ended the match and set up a final-four matchup with Egypt. 

Following the final whistle, there were brutal altercations on the field between coaching staff and substitutes, which escalated tensions. Following their Copa America victory last month, Argentina's players were caught on camera uttering a disparaging chant regarding the ancestry of France's black players. After the final whistle, Enzo Millot of France was issued a red card.

Thierry Henry, the head coach of France, denounced the obscene scenes that occurred at the end of the match. However, Argentina's main man, Nicolas Otamendi, accused France's Loic Balde of offending the loved ones of the Albiceleste stars who were sitting in the seats.

The Benfica defender said, “‘It makes me very angry. They can party, do whatever they want, but going to where the supporters and their families are is not the right way to do it. There was a guy, I don’t even know his name? Balde, Bade? I don’t know what, if he wants to party, let him come straight to where we are and we’ll sort it out.”

“He celebrated the victory in front of our substitutes” : Nicholas Otamendi

The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner spoke about Loic Balde and accused him of celebrating in front of the Argentina substitutes and that made the centre-back very angry. 

The former Manchester City defender added, “We’ll talk about everything we have to talk about. It makes me angry. It’s not good. The truth is, it makes me angry. He celebrated the victory in front of our substitutes. I didn’t really understand what was happening, then I realised he was there. It’s one thing to party on the field, with your team. But I don’t like that.”