In recent days, the sea has been particularly rough in the Old Port.
In addition to the change of coach and the arrival of Jean-Louis Gasset on his bench, OM is going through a storm.
Sunday, on the sidelines of the defeat against Brest in the championship (1-0), Medhi Benatia castigated the attitude of Jonathan Clauss.
The exit of the Marseille sports advisor caused a stir and its president, Pablo Longoria, returned to it this Tuesday, February 20 at a press conference.
“It was said that he was threatening people, players and agents,” recalled the Spaniard regarding the comments on the exit of his sports advisor.
What should we do as a club, accept it?
I don't accept unfair situations.
Medhi is important for the club.
»
The former captain of the Moroccan selection was in fact accused of having put pressure on Jonathan Clauss' agent to find him a new club at the end of the transfer window.
Under penalty of never playing again with Olympique de Marseille.
OM spreads in the media
The French international ultimately did not leave Bouches-du-Rhône at the end of the winter transfer window.
In an interview broadcast by Canal + on Sunday evening, Medhi Benatia criticized the French international for not being involved enough within the club.
“I know that he had been received several times in the coach's office (Editor's note: at that time, Gennaro Gattuso) to explain to him what was expected of him a little bit, in attitude, as a leader, French international.
We thought the message had gotten through, unfortunately, it wasn't.
» Comments repeated by the Marseille sports advisor the same evening at the microphone of Prime Video.
🗨️ "I was warned about 2-3 players whose behavior was a little borderline. Jonathan was one of them"
Medhi Benatia tells what happened with Jonathan Clauss during the last transfer window 🗣️ pic.twitter. com/JqBITof3FY
— CANAL+ Foot (@CanalplusFoot) February 18, 2024
Statements that were very poorly received by the UNFP, the players' union.
In a press release published Monday, she attacked the Marseille leaders: “To all those who wondered what use a sports advisor to the presidency could be in a club like OM, Medhi Benatia has just responded in the most interesting ways by basely attacking one of the club's employees, a player, an international, guilty of all evils.
»
Read alsoCrisis at OM: why Medhi Benatia attacked Jonathan Clauss, the underside of a controversial exit
Obviously annoyed by this affair, Pablo Longoria did not fail to respond to the union on Tuesday at a press conference.
“You have to be serious and a press release is not written like that.
The serious thing is to answer the phone.
I called three times today, no answer.
The serious thing is to listen to all parties to get an idea.
»