Olympique de Marseille stunned French soccer last week by officially announcing that Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe had been placed on the transfer list. The decision came after a violent locker room incident that erupted following the club’s 1–0 loss to Rennes in their Ligue 1 opener.
According to French media, the confrontation began when Rabiot, 30, along with other veteran players, confronted Rowe, 22, over what they felt was a lack of effort on the pitch. The exchange escalated quickly and turned physical, forcing club security to intervene. In the chaos, 17-year-old prospect Darryl Bakola collapsed and required medical attention.
The squad currently includes three Argentine players—Leonardo Balerdi, Facundo Medina, and Gerónimo Rulli—though none were directly involved in the altercation.
Club leadership reacts strongly
Club president Pablo Longoria, speaking to AFP, described the situation as “an act of extreme violence and seriousness.” Though banned from the locker room due to a prior sanction, he supported the decision alongside sporting director Mehdi Benatia and head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
“We had to make a decision after an incident that went far beyond what is acceptable in a football club, or in any workplace,” Longoria said. “Between the three of us, with decades of experience in football, we had never seen anything like this.”
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Benatia echoed those sentiments in an interview with RMC Sport: “It was chaos. You can get angry, but you cannot cross the line into physical aggression. To have to call security to separate players… that’s unacceptable.” He also criticized both players for failing to apologize within 48 hours of the incident.
Immediate consequences
Both Rabiot and Rowe were immediately suspended from the squad as the club looked for exit solutions. For Rowe, who joined from Norwich and helped England win the U-21 Euros, the exit was already anticipated. His decline in playing time following the arrival of record signing Igor Paixão accelerated the decision, and he has since finalized a move to Bologna.
Rabiot’s case is more complicated. A former Juventus star and key figure in Marseille’s Champions League qualification, he had taken a pay cut to join the project and was even praised in the club’s recent documentary. However, after the altercation, his future is over. His mother and agent, Veronique Rabiot, blasted the punishment as “disproportionate. There was an argument, yes, but no one was injured.”
The board insists the decision was not financially motivated, stressing they were in contract extension talks with Rabiot before the clash. Still, with his deal expiring in June, the French midfielder is expected to leave in this transfer window.
A club on edge
Coach Roberto De Zerbi stood firm on the club’s stance: “This is not an English pub. This is a workplace,” he said, adding that players must respect hierarchy and leadership.
The incident adds to a tense atmosphere in Marseille, where De Zerbi previously threatened to resign after a loss to Auxerre. With PSG looming and a Paris FC clash on the horizon, the Velodrome once again finds itself engulfed in turbulence.
