De Zerbi: Rabiot, Rowe had 'English pub fight'

Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi has said that Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe's violent confrontation last Friday was like an "English pub fight."

Rabiot and England under-21 international Rowe were involved in a physical altercation after Marseille's 1-0 defeat at Stade Rennais that led to both players being transfer listed by the club in a public statement.

Marseille club president Pablo Longoria has since come out and labelled the altercation as "extremely violent, something I've never encountered before," while De Zerbi has made it clear why both players will continue to be left out of the squad.

"In a workplace, we have two employees fighting like in an English pub, with a teammate on the ground because he had lost consciousness," former Brighton boss De Zerbi told reporters in France.

"What should the employer do in France? There are two solutions, either suspension or dismissal.

"A clear decision [was made] -- to remove the players from the squad while waiting to see how they feel. In a football club, as everywhere else, there must be a hierarchy. The club comes first."

Sources told ESPN that tempers boiled over in the dressing room after the game where Marseille failed to score against 10 men for over an hour against Stade Rennais.

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"Tomorrow we'll have to play without Rowe or Rabiot, which isn't easy. I could have pretended not to see anything, but I'm not going to lose my dignity just to win the championship [Ligue 1]," De Zerbi said.

"I will always support the club. Yes, they didn't break their teeth, but I've never seen a fight like that before. I saw the doctor trying to wake up the other player on the ground."

Marseille take on Paris FC at home on Aug. 23.

Information from ESPN's Julien Laurens contributed to this report.