French club Lyon demotes Marcelo after locker room incident

Updated Aug. 17, 2021 3:27 p.m. ET

Associated Press

LYON, France (AP) — French club Lyon demoted center-back Marcelo to the reserve squad on Tuesday in response to his “inappropriate behavior” after the team lost on Sunday.

The 34-year-old Brazilian scored an own goal in a 3-0 loss to Angers that left Lyon with just one point from two matches.

“The inappropriate behavior of Marcelo in the locker room after the match in Angers justifies this decision, which was taken unanimously by Olympique Lyonnais’ management team,”

French media reported the sides were negotiating a settlement to terminate Marcelo's contract. The team did not provide details of Marcelo's alleged behavior.

“Olympique Lyonnais' management reiterates that all of its players must demonstrate an unwavering mindset and a commitment to quickly return to recording results in line with the club's ambitions,” the team said.

Lyon had high hopes after a fourth-place finish last season and said it was “working on several specific recruitment targets, in close consultation with coach Peter Bosz.”

Bosz, dismissed by German team Bayer Leverkusen in March, said after Sunday's match that his players were “doing their own thing” and that he “didn’t see a team that wanted to win.”

Marcelo joined Lyon in 2017 from Turkish club Besiktas.

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