The president of Marseille, Pablo Longoria, revealed 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. The French club issued a statement on Tuesday, 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 compliance with the club’s internal code of conduct.” Longoria offered more details on Wednesday.
Sources indicated that the tension erupted in the locker room after the defeat against Rennes, in a match where Marseille played with eleven men against ten for an hour.What happened was extremely serious and extremely violent, something I had never seen 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 dropped from the first team by coach Roberto De Zerbi on Monday.I wasn’t in the locker room, but the staff who were there told me it was incredible, violent, aggressive and that it exceeded any limit.
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 to go to the south of France a year ago, also has options in England.I think we all have enough experience to say that we have never seen anything like this in a locker room… Even in the worst fights there are rules. Not in this case.
Pablo Longoria, President of Marseille
