Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi takes aim at the media over refereeing decisions as he admits Mason Greenwood problem

The Marseille manager backed the club president Pablo Longoria's claim of biased refereeing against the team as he also slammed the media in France for not taking a stand against poor refereeing calls. Longoria ranted against the match officials after Marseille's Ligue 1 clash against Strasbourg last Sunday as Mason Greenwood rescued a point for his team with a second-half penalty strike.

When asked if he agrees with the club chief, De Zerbi told L'Equipe: "Since I've been in France, I've seen things that I don't always understand and it doesn't only concern OM. Maybe because I'm Italian... I came to OM because it's the biggest French club. I respect everyone but the media should also take a stand sometimes."

De Zerbi also revealed his star player Greenwood's problems as he added: "It's a shame to have had so many absentees. It's a shame that it's happening at such an important time of the season. We still have seven injured players, those who played did well, but there was fatigue. Neal, who is a player I love, played the last three games in a row.

"Greenwood is not used to playing so many games in a row. Cornelius didn't play in his usual position because Lirola didn't feel like playing 90 minutes. Murillo, Kondogbia, Rongier, Wahi, Harit, that's a lot. We have to deal with it and not use it as excuses."

The Phoceans will be back in action in the Ligue 1 on January 26 as they take on Nice in an away fixture.