Marseille is going through a difficult period. The incident that occurred Friday evening between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe, after the defeat of OM in Rennes, caused a shock wave within the club. The two players were placed on the transfers list, a measure qualified as “Unprecedented” by President Pablo Longoria. In an interview with theAFP Wednesday, the latter described the event as
“Of extreme gravity and violence, something incredible”.
“We had to make a decision after an event that exceeded the acceptable limits in a football club, as in any organization”said Longoria. For him, it was “a decision that protects the institution, which protects the season”. The president also underlined the experience of the leading trio: “Roberto de Zerbi has been training for 13 years, Medhi Benatia has been in high -level football since he was 22 years old, I started in professional football 20 years ago. I think we have enough experience all three to say that we had never seen such a thing in a wardrobe “.
The altercation between the two players would have been even physical, which occurred on Saturday after the 0-1 defeat against the Stade Rennais. OM reacted immediately, depriving Rabiot and Rowe of training on Monday, before officially announced their registration on the transfers list on Tuesday.
“We had to protect the club”
The club's press release specified that this decision followed a “Inadmissible behavior in the locker room”. The incident, revealing unpublished internal tensions, shocked French football and relaunched questions around the future of Roberto de Zerbi in Marseille.
For Longoria, the decision was essential: “It was necessary to act quickly to show that certain limits cannot be crossed. Our responsibility is to protect OM, its players and its season ”. A case that will remain in the annals of the Marseille club, illustrating how much even the strongest institutions can be shaken by internal conflicts.
