PARIS: Olympics Games organisers have promised to step up security after a pitch invasion by fans in Morocco’s controversial, four-hour 2-1 victory over Argentina in the men’s football tournament on Wednesday.

Organisers said the incident which saw stewards chasing fans around the pitch in Saint-Etienne, insisted they had not posed a major security risk but that lessons would be learned.

Olympics security director Bruno Le Ray said: “We do not minimise the events of yesterday.”

Between 17,000 and 22,000 security staff were engaged at the 40 competition sites and 100 non-competitive sites such as the Olympic Village, training facilities and hotels.

Police are responsible for security outside the Olympic venues but organising security inside, from 110 different companies, is the responsibility of Olympics organisers.

Le Ray said finding sufficient security staff had been a challenge at recent Olympic Games, especially since the COVID pandemic, after which many security agents sought work elsewhere.

He also acknowledged a struggle to find sufficient female staff to screen female spectators, adding: “Using metal detectors, male security staff can control female spectators without the need for touch.”

Equipment such as barriers, cameras and detectors account for just under half of the Paris Olympics’ €320m security budget.

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