© IMAGO
Marseille president Pablo Longoria has described the dressing room bust-up between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe as an ‘event of extreme violence.’
On Tuesday, the Ligue 1 giants officially announced that both players have been removed from the team and transfer-listed after a physical altercation following Marseille’s 1-0 loss to Stade Rennais last Friday.
Roberto de Zerbi’s side suffered a disappointing defeat in their opening game of the season, which reportedly prompted Rabiot to question Rowe’s commitment in the dressing room.
A fight between the two ensued, and the pair had to be separated by their teammates and Marseille’s staff. The club described it as ‘unacceptable behaviour’ and confirmed that the two players will not be reintegrated into the squad.
Rowe is now on the verge of completing a move to Serie A side Bologna, while it remains to be seen where Rabiot will end up. According to Fabrice Hawkins, OM have set a €15 million price tag for the France international.
Rabiot clash an ‘event of extreme violence’
Marseille president Pablo Longoria has now addressed the situation in an interview with the AFP, insisting that the club simply had to transfer-list the two players after “an event of a gravity and violence that is extreme, something unheard of.”
He added that the altercation between Rabiot and Rowe was a “fight without limits.” Longoria explained: “We had to make a decision after an event that went beyond acceptable limits in a football club, as in any organisation.
“Roberto de Zerbi has been coaching for 13 years, Medhi Benatia has been in top-level football since he was 22, I started in professional football 20 years ago. I think the three of us have enough experience to say that we have never seen anything like this in a locker room.
“Do you think that I, the president of Olympique de Marseille, am happy to arrive in this type of situation with one of the most successful players of last season and whom I presented as an example?
“Honestly, as a club, we are suffering from the situation. We are the victim of a situation, a fight without limits, which is completely unheard of in the world of football.”
Football transfer news headlines today
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
