Benatia explains why Rabiot and Rowe had to leave Marseille

Medhi Benatia has returned to the violent incident between Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe following the match against Rennes on August 15, 2025 (a 1-0 defeat), an episode that led to both players leaving the club. According to L'Équipe, the Marseille sporting director insists that "neither of the two apologized" in the two and a half days that passed before they were summoned by the board, at which point "they acknowledged their mistake".

Benatia defends the joint decision to dispense with both players by appealing to matters of discipline. "De Zerbi holds the authority in the dressing room," he explains. "When the coach tries to calm the situation and it gets worse, we have a problem with respect for basic rules." The sporting director deepens his reasoning: "How does the dressing room continue to function if players don't respect the coach? It's like if two directors were fighting in my office, I asked them to stop and they continued. The next day, I fire them both."