There were concerning scenes during this evening’s Olympic men’s football semi-final between Spain and Morocco as the referee was forced off with a nasty-looking injury.
Ilgiz Tantashev of Uzbekistan had been selected to officiate the high-stakes clash but hobbled off the field just 15 minutes into the encounter after being clattered into by Spanish defender Marc Pubill.
Replays of the incident appeared to show Pubill initially being shoved by Morocco’s Abde Ezzalzouli, causing the young right-back to stumble into Tantashev’s right leg at Marseille’s Orange Velodrome.
The match had to be put on hold for several minutes while Tantashev received treatment but the 40-year-old could not continue and had to be replaced by Sweden’s Glenn Nyberg, who had originally been appointed as the fourth official.
Soufiane Rahimi went on to score from the penalty spot to give Morocco the lead at the end of the first half.
However, Spain came from behind to book their place in the final of this summer’s tournament, with Fermin Lopez and Juanlu Sanchez getting on the scoresheet in a stunning second-half fightback.
Santi Denia’s men will face France in Friday’s gold medal match, with Thierry Henry’s side beating Egypt 3-1 in the night’s other semi-final.
Morocco finished top of Group B to advance to the quarter-finals, where they went on to thrash the United States 4-0.
Spain, meanwhile, progressed as Group C runners-up behind Egypt and putting three unanswered goals past Japan to book their spot in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Speaking ahead of his side’s defeat at the hands of Spain, Morocco head coach Tarik Sektioui expressed his pride in the team’s achievements.
‘I am honoured to be here with these players,’ he told reporters.
‘We have felt that they carry a great love for Morocco and for the Moroccan flag and they feel responsible for developing Moroccan football.
On the danger posed by Spain, Sektioui added: ‘We know Spain’s strengths and weaknesses very well and they also know our strengths and weaknesses.
‘At this point, there is no room for surprises. All the details of each team are known.’
