Marseille’s squad are ‘being forced to sleep at the club’s training ground’ in a desperate attempt to save their season.
Since Roberto de Zerbi – now at Tottenham – left the French side, they have been on a horrendous run of form and the 3-0 defeat by Nantes at the weekend has triggered drastic action.
According to RMC Sport, manager Habib Beye and club bosses have forced the players to sleep at the Robert-Louis-Dreyfus training centre, with the hierarchy embarrassed by the attitude and commitment of the group.
Mason Greenwood and Co are now seventh in Ligue 1 and have watched their chances of Champions League qualification go up in smoke – winning just once since March 13.
The move to have the players stay at the training ground is a desperate attempt to revive their ailing fortunes and ensure they don’t miss out on European football altogether.
A labour lawyer in Paris said the demands of the club on the players in this instance could be considered ‘harassment’.
Habib Beye has his Marseille squad sleeping at the Robert-Louis-Dreyfus training ground, according to reports in France
Pierre Vignal told RMC: ‘This could very well constitute a form of harassment. From a legal standpoint, we’re dealing with a restriction of a fundamental freedom, namely the freedom of movement.
‘Like any restriction of a fundamental freedom, the Labor Code stipulates that it must be justified and proportionate. The justification seems to me to be completely lacking. In any case, proportionality is difficult to achieve.
‘If we consider ordinary employees, this represents a considerable deterioration in their working conditions and could very well constitute a form of harassment.
‘If we were to take this example from a normal company, it would be completely absurd.’
Marseille’s performances have provoked a furious reaction from fans, pundits and the French press in recent weeks.
And former Man United striker Mason Greenwood has been a focal point for criticism.
The Englishman and his Marseille team-mates were all given 0/10 ratings after a 3-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Nantes.
The forward was branded ‘scandalous’ and compared to a circus actor by local newspaper La Provence in a withering review.
La Provence wrote of Greenwood: ‘Scandalous from start to finish, he thought it was okay to walk after his countless turnovers, complain when his teammates didn’t pass to him, and act like he was in a circus, attempting unnecessary gestures for his own personal amusement, while his club’s financial future was at stake.
‘In other circumstances, he might have deserved half a point for at least managing to tie his boots.’
They also wrote of the 24-year-old: ‘It’s easier to understand why the enfant terrible of English football spent a brief spell on the bench at kickoff last Sunday.
‘While players readily invoke the infamous “professional foul,” Greenwood’s behavior on Saturday was undeniably one.’
Mason Greenwood has come in for scathing criticism in recent weeks
La Provence were similarly disgusted with the performances of other former Premier League players in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Criticising former Arsenal striker Aubameyang, 36, they penned: ‘The Gabonese player completed more passes for Nantes than his teammates.’
Meanwhile, they doled out the following critique of Hojbjerg: ‘After puffing out his chest at the foot of the Depé stand last Sunday, “Pilou” has reverted to a kitten.
‘The worst version of himself. Completely out of sorts, he produced a festival of passes that were sometimes poorly judged, sometimes overhit, sometimes forced.’
Marseille have two games remaining and travel to face Le Havre this weekend before welcoming Rennes on the final day.
Those games will give some indication of whether the extreme measures taken by the club have paid off.
