The president of Marseille, Pablo Longoria, announced that the club was forced to put Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe on the transfer list after an “extremely violent” altercation between the two players. On Tuesday, the French club issued a statement informing that both players were available for transfer “due to unacceptable behavior in the locker room after the match against Stade Rennais FC, in agreement with the coaching staff and in accordance with the club’s internal code of conduct”. Longoria offered more details on Wednesday.
Sources close to the team reported that tempers flared in the locker room after the defeat against Rennes, where Marseille played with eleven men against ten for an hour.What happened was extremely serious and extremely violent, something I had never witnessed before. We had to make a decision because what happened went far beyond what is acceptable in a football club, as it would be in any organization.
Pablo Longoria, President of Marseille
The 30-year-old French international midfielder Rabiot and the 22-year-old English U-21 international winger Rowe were excluded from the first team by coach Roberto De Zerbi on Monday.He wasn’t in the locker room, but the staff who were there told me it was incredible, violent, aggressive, and that it crossed all boundaries.
Pablo Longoria, President of Marseille
Rabiot, who has one year left on his contract, has aroused the interest of his former club, Juventus, and Inter Milan, while Premier League teams are also monitoring the situation. Rowe, who left Norwich a year ago to go to the south of France, also has options in England, with Sunderland and Leeds United.I think we all have enough experience to say that we have never seen something like this in a locker room… Even in the worst fights there are rules. Not in this case.
Pablo Longoria, President of Marseille
