MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Marseille players Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe brawled as if in a pub fight, coach Roberto De Zerbi said Friday, detailing their locker room clash that sent the French club into turmoil.
France midfielder Rabiot and England Under-21 forward Rowe were put on the transfer list this week and told by the club to leave this week in the fallout of their fight after a season-opening loss at Rennes in the French league last Friday.
De Zerbi the players had initially been temporarily removed from the squad on Monday but the situation had then degenerated.
“Not because of Marseille, but because of the entourage,” the coach said in an apparent reference to Rabiot’s mother and agent, Véronique Rabiot, who criticized senior Marseille officials.
The furor has affected Marseille's plans for the season with just 10 days left in the transfer window and one month before the 1993 European Cup winner returns to the Champions League.
De Zerbi said he was annoyed that Rabiot’s mother had forgotten how much he supported her son, including making him captain in his debut season in Marseille.
“No one can walk all over me, or the club,” said the Italian coach, adding he felt like a father to his players.
De Zerbi said he came from the streets and had seen similar fights but never such a clash in soccer as that between Rabiot and Rowe.
“It was a fight, a brawl, the likes of which I’d never seen in all the years of my career,” said the 46-year-old De Zerbi, whose playing and coaching career took him to almost 20 different clubs in Italy, England, Romania and Ukraine.
De Zerbi said Rabiot and Rowe had to be separated by team bodyguards in a chaotic scene at Rennes during which another player, 17-year-old Darryl Bakola, fell to the ground after fainting.
Rabiot was sorry for what happened, the coach said, while Rowe is reportedly in talks over a move to Italy with Bologna.
Marseille hosts newly promoted Paris FC on Saturday.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Marseille's head coach Roberto De Zerbi reatcs during the League One soccer match between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, southern France. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, file)
BOSTON (AP) — Marat Khusnutdinov and Viktor Arvidsson scored in the first 3:45 of the game, and the Boston Bruins held on to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday night after raising Zdeno Chara's No. 33 to the rafters.
Mark Kastelic added a short-handed goal in the second period, and Jeremy Swayman stopped 26 shots for Boston, which swept a five-game homestand for the first time since 2019 and won for the seventh time in eight games. David Pastrnak scored an empty-netter with 15 seconds left after the Kraken picked up back-to-back penalties, then pulled the goalie to play five-on-four.
Chandler Stephenson and Eeli Tolvanen scored, and Joey Daccord made 20 saves for the Kraken, who have lost four of their last five games.
The Bruins began the night by honoring Chara, the Hall of Fame defenseman who was the captain of their 2011 Stanley Cup championship team. Hall of Famers Bobby Orr and current Bruins president Cam Neely were among those who took part in the ceremony, which ended with Chara's children raising his number to the TD Garden rafters.
Khusnutdinov took a long pass from Charlie McAvoy, skated in on Daccord and slipped in a backhand to make it 1-0 54 seconds into the game. Less than three minutes later, Arvidsson tried to center the puck to Casey Mittelstadt, but it was deflected into the net by Seattle's Jordan Eberle.
The Kraken called an early timeout, leaving them without one when they might have needed it down two players in the final minute.
After Stephenson made it a one-goal game, Kastelic poked the puck away from Kraken forward Matty Beniers and skated in on Daccord for the short-handed goal that made it 3-1.
The Kraken visit Utah on Saturday.
The Bruins visit Chicago on Saturday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara speaks during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Bruins' Viktor Arvidsson is congratulated at the bench after scoring against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman makes a save as defenseman Nikita Zadorov and Seattle Kraken's Frederick Gaudreau look for the rebound during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Bruins' Mark Kastelic eyes a loose puck as he gets past Seattle Kraken's Matty Beniers during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Seattle Kraken's Chandler Stephenson deflects the puck past Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
