Marseille President Longoria Describes Rabiot And Rowe's Extremely Violent Dressing Room Altercation

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Marseille's president, Pablo Longoria, described the altercation between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe as extremely violent. This incident led to both players being placed on the transfer list. The clash occurred after Marseille's 1-0 defeat to Rennes in their Ligue 1 opener, where Ludovic Blas scored the decisive goal despite Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal's red card for Marseille.

Following the match, tensions escalated in the dressing room under coach Roberto De Zerbi. Reports suggest Rabiot accused Rowe of not putting in enough effort during the game. Rowe was substituted just after an hour, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang taking his place. Longoria remarked, "What happened was extremely serious and extremely violent, something I've never encountered before."

The confrontation reportedly involved insults and a physical altercation witnessed by the entire squad. Longoria further commented, "I wasn't in the dressing room but the staff told me it was incredible, violent, aggressive and went beyond any limits." Consequently, Marseille issued a statement confirming that both players have been removed from the first-team squad and are available for transfer.

Rabiot has one year left on his contract and is attracting interest from Juventus and Inter Milan. Premier League clubs are also monitoring his situation closely. Meanwhile, Rowe joined Marseille last year for £15 million (€17 million) from Norwich City. He has been linked with a return to England, with Leeds United and Sunderland reportedly interested but yet to make formal offers.

Longoria expressed disbelief at the incident's severity: "I think we all have enough experience to say we have never seen anything like it in a dressing room. Even in the worst punch-ups there are rules," he said. "Not in this case."