MARSEILLE’s season is in turmoil after just one match after a “scene of chaos” broke out in their dressing room with two players fighting and another unconscious.
The shocking fracas – compared to a brawl in an “English pub” – has seen both scrapping players transfer listed and the club desperately trying to restore order.
GETTYMarseille suffered a 1-0 defeat to Rennes in their Ligue 1 opener last weekend[/caption]
GETTYTensions between the players were high after the final whistle[/caption]
AFPMidfielder Adrien Rabiot was reportedly critical of Jonathan Rowe’s performance in the match[/caption]
REUTERSRowe is said to have slapped the France international in the face[/caption]
It came after Roberto De Zerbi’s troops lost 1-0 to Rennes on the opening weekend, with frustrations boiling over after the final whistle.
Reporters in the mixed zone at the Stade Rennais heard the ruckus in the away dressing and are said to have heard De Zerbi’s translator lambast the players.
He said: “The others beat us on the pitch, and we come in here and fight among ourselves.
“You know what that means? That we have small balls.
“In Marseille, we need to have big ones.”
Adrien Rabiot‘s criticism of Jonathan Rowe’s performance, according to La Provence, is said to have lit the blue touch paper.
England Under-21 international Rowe is said to have taken so much exception to Rabiot’s comments that he SLAPPED the former Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder.
Chaos is said to have then ensued, with De Zerbi and club sporting director Mehdi Benatia having to stop the fracas.
SHUTTERSTOCKJonathan Rowe is said to have tried to get at Rabiot a second time after they were separated[/caption]
To add to the madness, 17-year-old player Darryl Bakola is understood to have fallen to the ground unconscious in the dressing room.
Rowe, 22, is said to have reignited the brawl by going after Rabiot again after initially leaving the scene to get on the team bus.
Benatia said of the incident: “There, normally, you always have two or three guys who come and separate things, that’s what some tried to do.
“After the coach arrives, normally you calm down. […] Not here, we started with a physical confrontation, punches.
“We have a kid (Darryl Bakola) who, unfortunately, at that moment, has a kind of vagal malaise, who falls to the ground.
“All that in a locker room, it’s a scene of chaos, I’ve never seen that.
“It can get out of hand, but you can’t get to a physical attack, a punch in the mouth, and security coming to separate you… But where are we? We’re here to play football.”
De Zerbi said of the fracas: “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.
“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.”
He added: “I ask you this: what happens if, at your workplace, two people, two employees, two workers, two lawyers, get into a fight?
“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.”
It was a fight like I’ve never seen in all my years in football.”
Roberto De Zerbi
AFPRoberto De Zerbi was left gobsmacked by the dressing room incident[/caption]
The Italian added: “It’s true that no teeth were broken during the fight, but it was a fight like I’ve never seen in all my years in football.
“For the first time in my career, I didn’t know what to say or what to do.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I come from the streets, I’m used to fights.
“But I’ve never seen anything like this. The club’s bodyguards were trying to separate them.
“Normally they’re supposed to protect us from others, not from ourselves.”
Both Rabiot and Rowe were suspended for their respective part in the brawl and have been put up for sale.
But the former Brighton boss De Zerbi insists Rabiot wouldn’t be on the transfer list had it not been for comments made by his agent and mother, Veronique.
The outspoken Veronique accused Marseille chiefs of unfair treatment towards her son.
And she’s accused them of “betraying” the midfielder with their decision to suspend him from first-team action.
De Zerbi continued: “We decided to suspend the two players from the squad while we waited to see if there would be any genuine contrition (from the players).
“On Monday, when we communicated our decision to the players, it was a temporary measure, but the situation escalated, not because of Marseille, but because of those around them.
“Adrien is still a good guy. I think his entourage mishandled the aftermath of Rennes.
“If there had been any regrets, I think things would have returned to normal.”
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