After Olympique de Marseille's (OM) victory against Le Havre, Habib Bèye gave a candid interview to the press. The Senegalese coach accused the French press of spreading lies about him.

"I read and heard that there had been deviant behavior and that the coach had stopped training because of certain players. You saw this (Sunday) evening that there is no problem between my players and me," said Habib Bèye.

The Olympique de Marseille coach was responding to a press article claiming that the pre-match training session had been stopped by Bèye due to a lack of commitment from OM star Mason Greenwood. "I stopped the training session, which was the main session of the week, two and a half minutes before the end. Not at all because of a turnover by Mason Greenwood. I felt at that moment that there was little point in continuing the training. A coach has to feel things out. When the quality of the training drops, the goal isn't to decide to continue for three minutes if you don't think it's the right thing to do. That's how it happened, and then it was sensationalized," he said after the match against Le Havre, which they won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Greenwood, who came to greet his coach.

Bèye also addressed the absence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was left out after a party that turned ugly. "As for the absence of certain players, that's not a question for me. I prefer to talk about the players who are here; I value my entire squad. I especially want to highlight what my players have done," added Habib Bèye.

Subsequently, Habib Beye didn't hesitate to criticize the French press, which he accused of spreading lies targeting him personally. "What bothers me isn't what's being said. It's the lies about me and me. Let's be very clear now. This isn't about OM, where there are always these problems. I'm going to be factual. Today, lies are being spread publicly about Habib Beye. He's not the coach of Olympique de Marseille. Let me tell you, when I read it, it doesn't say 'Habib Beye, the coach of Olympique de Marseille.' It says 'Habib Beye had a problem with Mason Greenwood.' When I look at all the other coaches in Ligue 1, it says 'Bruno Genesio, the coach of Lille.'" "It says 'Franck Haise, the Rennes coach'. Mine says 'Habib Beye had a problem with Mason Greenwood'," he says.

Habib Bèye added: "The problem we have today is that we've entered a race for information—for bad information and lies—that is no longer verified at all. I was talking a few weeks ago about journalistic ethics. And that's where I think it's a problem. Information needs to be verified. I never stopped training because of Mason Greenwood. And tonight, what Mason did (greeted him after his goal, editor's note), he did it for a reason. When the news broke, he came to my office and said to me: 'Did you see the news? Do you want me to do something about it?'" I told him it was pointless. It's not about Olympique de Marseille, it's about the coach, Habib Beye, but especially about Habib Beye the person. They're pitting Mason Greenwood's name against Habib Beye, not against the Olympique de Marseille coach. And that's where it's a problem for me, when it's reported like that and the information isn't verified. And that's what upsets me today because I think I'm quite open. I'd like everything said about me, my players, my team to be true. It bothers me when lies are spread to harm whoever they may be. Probably me. It was great to see Mason score.

Visibly moved after being asked who might be targeting him, Habib Bèye simply refused to be the target of harassment. "It's not someone who has it in for me. Today, it's become a kind of open venting. I have no problem with the idea of criticizing the coach on the way we play, on the results. I don't pay attention to what's going on. However, I have a lot of people telling me about it. I have a family, I have children. And I can tell you that, all things considered, I've rarely seen such a relentless attack on someone. Rarely. And I'm telling you, I'm strong. I'm very, very strong. When people talk about the coach, I have no problem. When articles today don't even mention him as the 'coach of Olympique de Marseille,' then I have a problem because I look at the others too. And it's not mentioned in that way. That's just what I'm saying. Now, once again, I'm not complaining. I'm with my players, I'm working, I'm doing what I do." "What's needed to be with my staff. What matters is Olympique de Marseille," the coach concluded.

Next week, Habib Bèye and Marseille will play for their European future. OM will host Rennes, who are three points ahead in the standings. A victory for Marseille would secure their place in the Europa League.