Crisis in Marseille: 'The fans are on fire'

It’s only the second round of Ligue 1 and Marseille is already in full crisis mode. Everything changed after an opening day loss to Rennes when Jonathan Rowe and Adrien Rabiot clashed in the dressing room, with all of their team-mates, coach and sporting director watching. After describing the row as a ‘street fight’ and something which both coach Roberto De Zerbi and sporting director Medhi Benatia both haven’t seen in all of their professional careers, both players were transfer listed after they didn’t even apologize after 48 hours. The fans are divided on this issues as some are totally backing the club on this one, claiming that “the club must be example to the kids’, while others are criticizing the management for ‘killing the season already’ with this decision, instead of just fining the players.

'A punch in the mouth, and security coming to separate you... I've never seen anything like it!'

What’s worse is that after all this mess, Marseille players have to think about the upcoming home game against newly promoted Paris, and they will have a full stadium with already irked fans. One of them is not even sure what will happen as far as the fans are concerned.

“The fans are already on fire. They're nervous. People have taken a blow to the head. I'm worried because the stadium will be boiling at the start, but if it turns sour during the match, we can't control the people. We're going to go to the stadium and cheer on our team. But after that, everything will depend on the game. I think they're taking a big risk. We ran a season ticket campaign practically on Adrien Rabiot, we sold thousands of jerseys... They better not mess up because it could quickly turn sour. We're waiting for a meeting with the management so they can explain everything to us face-to-face. It's not planned for the moment, but I'd like it to happen very quickly. We built the team around Adrien Rabiot, we praised him for months" said Christian Cataldo, the head of the Dodgers supporters' group to RMC Sports.

New war in France: De Zerbi vs Rabiot's mom!

He is among that category of fans who believe that this thing should have resolved differently.

“We've seen a lot of crazy things, but this one is beautiful. Afterwards, we have to think carefully. It's the whole season that is being called into question. Everyone has meltdowns. Last season, the president lost it, and so did Medhi Benatia. I wouldn't have acted like that, I would have imposed a big sanction, a big fine, and I would have tried to talk to all the protagonists. We can bring everyone together, talk, and vent calmly" he explained.

Without delay: Rabiot and his 'fighting buddy' transfer listed!

Even the USA owner Frank McCourt is coming to the game against Paris and already gave a statement in which he expressed his support for OM's management and coach. The American, who bought OM in 2016, invested around 640 million euros in the club.

LIGUE 1 - MATCHDAY 2

Friday

PSG - Angers 1-0 (0-0)

/Ruiz 50/

Satuday

18.00: (1.42) Olympique Marseille (4.50) Paris (7.75)

20.00: (1.67) Nice (4.00) Auxerre (5.00)

22.05: (1.40) Olympique Lyon (4.70) Metz (8.00)

Sunday

16.00: (2.85) Lorient (3.25) Rennes (2.55)

18.15: (3.90) Le Havre (3.60) Lens (2.05)

18.15: (1.80) Strasbourg (3.75) Nantes (4.75)

18.15: (2.10) Toulouse (3.50) Brest (3.80)

21.45: (3.00) Lille (3.50) Monaco (2.45)

***odds are subject to change***