During the men's Olympic football semi-final between Spain and Morocco, referee Ilgiz Tantashev was injured just 15 minutes into the match after a collision involving Spanish defender Marc Pubill. The incident led to a brief stoppage for medical treatment, and Tantashev was ultimately replaced by fourth official Glenn Nyberg. Despite the disruption, Morocco took the lead with a penalty from Soufiane Rahimi before halftime. Spain equalized shortly after the hour mark through Fermin Lopez, but Juanlu Sanchez scored a late winner to send Spain to the final. This match marked a rare occurrence of a referee substitution in Olympic history. Spain aims to secure its first Olympic football gold since 1992 at the upcoming final against the winner of the other semi-final between France and Egypt.