Marseille brass describes ‘incredible, violent, aggressive’ locker room fight

Olympique de Marseille made the right decision to place France midfielder Adrien Rabiot and English winger Jonathan Rowe on the transfer list after their dressing room bust-up which left a player unconscious, manager Roberto De Zerbi said on Friday.

The two players had an altercation after Friday’s 1-0 loss at Stade Rennais despite the hosts being reduced to 10 men in the first half.

Rabiot reportedly accused Rowe of a lack of commitment and they threw insults at each other before a physical altercation took place in front of the squad. The two players will not play against Paris FC on Saturday.

“In a workplace, we have two employees fighting like in an English pub, with a teammate on the ground because he had lost consciousness. What should the employer do in France? There are two solutions, either suspension or dismissal,” De Zerbi told reporters.

“A clear decision (was made) — to remove the players from the squad while waiting to see how they feel. In a football club, as everywhere else, there must be a hierarchy. The club comes first.

“In recent history, Marseille has been in the spotlight because of a lack of order and a lack of ethics within the club. So we were forced to make this decision, which was fair and temporary at first. It was the right thing for the club to do.”

Marseille president Pablo Longoria said the team’s staff had described the altercation as “incredible, violent and aggressive” while De Zerbi said bodyguards had to come to their rescue and separate the players.

“It’s the only time I’ve seen that. I come from the streets, I’m used to this kind of thing. But to see bodyguards defending us…” De Zerbi added.

“Tomorrow we’ll have to play without Rowe or Rabiot, which isn’t easy. I could have pretended not to see anything, but I’m not going to lose my dignity just to win the championship.

“I will always support the club. Yes, they didn’t break their teeth, but I’ve never seen a fight like that before. I saw the doctor trying to wake up the other player on the ground.”

Rabiot’s mother Veronique had slammed De Zerbi for freezing out her son after the club gave Mason Greenwood a second chance after he had been charged with assault, charges that were later dropped.

“The mother has forgotten two things: I decided to make him captain… And in one year, I gave her son more attention and affection than I did my own son,” he said.

“For Rabiot’s mother to say that we gave Greenwood a second chance… That’s crazy. We’re talking about private life here. It’s not fair to talk about other people. We’re talking about a fight in a workplace.”