Barton in verbal clash with Marseille team mate

Olympique Marseille's Joey Barton reacts after their French Ligue 1 soccer match against FC Lorient at the Velodrome Stadium in Marseille December 9, 2012.

PARIS (Reuters) - Joey Barton clashed with Olympique Marseille team mate Kassim Abdallah during training on Tuesday but the argument has been amicably settled, the English midfielder said on Wednesday.

OM said in a statement on their website (www.om.net) that English midfielder Barton and French defender Abdallah had a "verbal clash" during a public training session, without elaborating.

"During my career, I've seen 30 or 40 clashes on a training pitch," Barton told OM TV.

"These clashes should be dealt with in private. We are competitors (...) and sometimes we go a little bit too far. The most important thing is to make peace and move on - that's what happened yesterday."

Barton arrived in France on loan from QPR following a colourful career in England during which he spent two and a half months in prison for assault during a night out in Liverpool.

At the time of the attack, he was already on bail for attacking former Manchester City team mate Ousmane Dabo and he also stubbed out a cigar in the eye of a youth-team player at the club in 2004.

"It's certain that where I am, there is always a little bit more noise and exaggeration," Barton said. "I'm aware of that, that's why I said yesterday: 'let's stop it, calm down. If there's a problem, let's deal with it in private'."

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond)