Sports
Marseille: Rabiot-Rowe spat ‘extremely violent’
Marseille president Pablo Longoria said the club had no choice but to transfer list Adrien Rabiot and Jonathan Rowe after what he described as an “extremely violent” altercation between the two players.
The French club released a statement Tuesday saying both players were available for transfer “due to unacceptable behaviour in the dressing room after the match against Stade Rennais FC, in agreement with the technical staff and in accordance with the club’s internal code of conduct.”
Longoria added more details Wednesday.
“What happened was extremely serious and extremely violent, something I’ve never encountered before,” he told AFP in an interview. “We had to take a decision because what happened went way beyond what is acceptable in a football club, as it would be in any organisation.”
Sources told ESPN that tempers boiled over in the dressing room after the loss to Rennes, in which Marseille played with 11 men against 10 for an hour.
Rabiot accused Rowe of a lack of commitment, according to sources, and they insulted each other in front of the whole squad before getting physical with each other.
“I wasn’t in the dressing room but the staff who were told me it was incredible, violent, aggressive and went beyond any limits,” Longoria added.
France international midfielder Rabiot, 30, and England under-21 international winger Rowe, 22, were expelled from the first-team squad by head coach Roberto De Zerbi on Monday, ESPN reported.
“I think we all have enough experience to say we have never seen anything like it in a dressing room … Even in the worst punch-ups there are rules,” Longoria said. “Not in this case.”
Rabiot, who has one year left on his contract, has attracted interest from former club Juventus and Inter Milan while Premier League sides are also monitoring the situation, sources have told ESPN. Rowe, who left Norwich for the south of France a year ago, also has options in England, with Sunderland and Leeds United.
Information from ESPN’s Julien Laurens was used in this report.
Sports
Huskers earn top overall seed in volleyball tourney
Undefeated Nebraska earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament bracket released Sunday.
The five-time national champion Huskers (30-0) have dominated this season, dropping just seven sets. They lead Division I in hitting percentage at .352.
Dani Busboom Kelly, who won NCAA titles as both a Nebraska player and assistant, took over at her alma mater this season after longtime Huskers coach John Cook retired. Busboom Kelly led Louisville to the NCAA final in 2024, where the Cardinals lost to Penn State.
The other No. 1 seeds are Kentucky, Texas and Pitt. The Wildcats have won one NCAA title, and the Longhorns have four. The Panthers reached the final four the past four seasons but lost in the semifinals each time.
Pitt and Stanford finished tied atop the ACC at 18-2, and the Cardinal won their head-to-head matchup 3-2 at Stanford on Nov. 14. But the Panthers’ overall body of work secured them the last No. 1 seed, while nine-time NCAA champion Stanford is the No. 2 seed in Texas’ region.
SEC regular-season and tournament champion Kentucky defeated Texas 3-2 in the conference tournament final. They would face each other in the national semifinals should they advance that far.
Defending national champion Penn State, the only school that has appeared in every NCAA tournament dating back to the event’s start in 1981, is a No. 8 seed in Texas’ quarter of the bracket. St. Thomas (Minnesota) and Toledo are both making their first appearance in the tournament.
The Big 12 led all leagues with 10 teams in the field, the Big Ten has nine, the ACC seven and the SEC five.
Early-round matches will be held from Dec. 4 to 6 on campus sites. The regionals, scheduled for Dec. 11-14, will be hosted by the four highest seeds still standing in each quarter of the bracket.
The final four is at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, for the third time in the tournament’s history. It was there that Penn State won the championship in 2010 and Nebraska won its most recent title in 2017.
The national semifinals are Dec. 18 (ESPN), and the championship match is Dec. 21 (ABC).
Sports
Commanders vs. Broncos live updates: Washington tightens up in red zone, yields field goal
The Commanders return from their bye week searching for their first victory since Oct. 5. It won’t be easy against the Broncos, who have won eight straight.
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Sports
Ruben Amorim: Man United ‘steal’ set-piece routines from rivals
Ruben Amorim has said that Manchester United are “stealing” set-piece routines from other clubs after goals from two free-kicks helped earn a valuable 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
United came from behind at Selhurst Park thanks to second-half goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount, both of which came from Bruno Fernandes set plays.
Amorim’s team have now scored 10 Premier League goals from set-pieces this season — joint most with table-toppers Arsenal.
“We work a lot,” Amorim said when asked about United’s improvement at set-pieces.
“We have more time to work, we work a lot and we learn a lot in England.
“I think you are used to seeing that, but when you come for the Premier League you learn a lot with other teams how to do it and we are stealing a lot of things to score goals.”
United looked destined for another set-back following Monday’s defeat to 10-man Everton when Crystal Palace went in at half-time 1-0 up thanks to a retaken penalty from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
But there was marked improvement in their performance after the break as Amorim’s team recorded just their second league win away from home since March.
“I just said to the players we need to be more alive and you can feel that,” Amorim said.
– Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee inspire Man United comeback win at Crystal Palace
– Zirkzee leads Man United comeback in game of two halves vs. Palace
– Premier League table
“So if you are more alive, you are in more places, you are near the ball more often. I think everyone did that.
“But we also need to understand that the opponent was tired also in the second half.
“And when you increase the rhythm and the opponent gets tired a little bit, suffers right away a goal, you felt that we had the control of the game and that’s it.”
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