Marseille 'hurt' by 'extreme violence' between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe as president says dressing room battle 'completely unheard of in world football'

Tensions ran high after Marseille lost their opening Ligue 1 fixture against Rennes. Soon after the loss, Rabiot and Rowe got involved in a heated altercation, which soon turned violent. This prompted the club to take swift action by suspending the pair and then placing them on the transfer list. The situation turned so extreme that the president labelled it as "completely unheard of in the world of football."

The scenes inside the dressing room turned so ugly that security had to intervene to separate them. The president called the incident "extremely violent," and coach Roberto De Zerbi also made it clear that the players would not be playing again.

In an interview with AFP, Marseille president Pablo Longoria said: "We had to make a decision after an event that went beyond acceptable limits in a football club, as in any organisation. [The club made] a decision that protects the institution, that protects the season. Roberto De Zerbi has been coaching for 13 years, [sporting director] Medhi Benatia has been in top-level football since he was 22, I started in professional football 20 years ago. I think the three of us have enough experience to say that we have never seen anything like this in a locker room."

He added: "Do you think that I, the president of Olympique de Marseille, am happy to arrive in this type of situation with one of the most successful players of last season and whom I presented as an example? Honestly, as a club, we are suffering the situation. We are the victim of a situation, a fight without limits, which is completely unheard of in the world of football."

Rabiot and Rowe have both been permanently excluded from the team and placed on the transfer list after their violent fight. Rabiot is attracting interest from Serie A clubs, especially Juventus and Inter, while Rowe has agreed to join Bologna in Italy after Marseille agreed to a deal with them.