At 0:00 on August 6, the Paris Olympic semi-finals saw Morocco U23 face off against Spain U23.
In the 13th minute of the match, Spanish midfielder Baena fouled a Moroccan player during a defensive play. This led to a Spanish defender accidentally injuring the main referee, Tantsyshev from Uzbekistan, while attempting to recover. The main referee was unable to continue and had to leave the pitch. The fourth official, Nieberg from Sweden, stepped in to take over.
Main referee Tantsyshev had previously officiated a World Cup qualifier match between the Chinese national team and Thailand at China’s home ground this year, which ended in a 1-1 draw between China’s men’s football team and Thailand.