Marseille lost 1-0 to Rennes in the Ligue 1 curtain-raiser, with Ludovic Blas scoring late despite Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal being sent off. A violent dressing-room confrontation followed the match between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe after Rabiot accused Rowe of lacking effort; Rowe was substituted just after the hour for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Club president Pablo Longoria described the incident as extremely serious and beyond acceptable limits, and staff characterized it as incredible, violent and aggressive. Both players were expelled from the first-team squad and placed on the transfer list. Rabiot has attracted interest from Juventus, Inter and Premier League clubs; Rowe has been linked with a return to England.
What happened was extremely serious and extremely violent, something I've never encountered before. We had to take a decision because what happened went way beyond what is acceptable in a football club, as it would be in any organisation. I wasn't in the dressing room but the staff told me it was incredible, violent, aggressive and went beyond any limits.
Rabiot, who has one year left on his contract, has attracted interest from former club Juventus and fellow Serie A side Inter, with Premier League clubs also on high alert. England under-21 international Rowe joined Marseille last year for a reported €15m (£17m) from Norwich City, and has been linked with a return to his homeland. Premier League newcomers Leeds United and Sunderland are said to have an interest in the 22-year-old, but they are yet to make a formal bid.
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