Only one game into the new season, and things are already heating up at Olympique Marseille. The club has suspended Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe indefinitely.
Coach Roberto de Zerbi wanted to close the gap on Paris St. Germain, and the club strengthened its squad in the summer to achieve this goal – but Olympique Marseille’s start to the season has been extremely sobering: OM lost their Ligue 1 opener 1-0 at Stade Rennes on Friday evening despite having an extra man for an hour, conceding a goal in stoppage time.
The frustration ran deep afterwards, even among the players. As reported by RMC Sport, veteran Adrien Rabiot and winger Jonathan Rowe got into a heated argument in the dressing room in front of the entire team after the match. Several teammates tried to separate the two quarrellers before coach de Zerbi and sporting director Mehdi Benatia intervened to restore calm.
Marseille has now responded by temporarily suspending both players. Rabiot and Rowe are not allowed to participate in training for an indefinite period. It is not yet known how long the punishment for the two quarrelers will last. However, French media expect it to be only for a short time. According to reports, the club’s main concern is that certain behaviors should not go unpunished.
Whether Rabiot and Rowe, who were both in the starting line-up in Rennes and are among the top performers in the OM team, will be back in action next Saturday in the first home game of the season against ambitious newcomers Paris FC is, however, rather questionable.
