MARSEILLE, France (AP) — The first substitution made in the Olympics men’s soccer semifinal match between Morocco and Spain on Monday was the referee.
The ref, Ilgiz Tantashev of Uzbekistan, limped off the field 15 minutes into the match shortly after he was inadvertently knocked down by Spain defender Marc Pubill near midfield.
Pubill appeared to be pushed by a Moroccan player. He tumbled forward and into Tantashev’s right leg. Play was stopped for a few minutes while Tantashev received treatment.
But the referee couldn’t continue and was replaced by fourth official Glenn Nyberg of Sweden.