LONDON: A soccer agent sent a threatening email to a senior director at Premier League club Chelsea FC, demanding a six-figure commission over the transfer of French defender Kurt Zouma, prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday.
Saif Rubie sent an email to Marina Granovskaia, Chelsea’s director of football under former owner Roman Abramovich, in May 2022 after Zouma’s transfer to West Ham from Chelsea the previous year.
The 45-year-old has pleaded not guilty to one charge under the Malicious Communications Act and his trial at Southwark Crown Court began on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Arizuna Asante said Rubie – whose name appeared on court lists as Saif Alrubie – told Granovskaia that he and his partners were owed 300,000 pounds ($373,000) over the deal.
Granovskaia gave evidence on Tuesday that Chelsea received a total of 29.1 million pounds, which included 4.1 million pounds that was paid to Zouma as a “termination payment.”
In an email to Granovskaia, Rubie said: “I’m sure you’ve heard the story about your other friend Kia when he owed me money for a year and how he ended up paying it.
“Wouldn’t want you to be in the same situation just because you have a personal issue with me.”
Asante told jurors that was a reference to an incident involving soccer agent Kia Joorabchian, who was allegedly accosted in a restaurant and had his watch taken before he was faced with demands for money at his office in 2008.
Granovskaia said on Tuesday that she had a “vague recollection” of having previously heard of the alleged incident involving Joorabchian when she received Rubie’s email.
Asked how Rubie’s email made her feel, Granovskaia said: “It made me feel very nervous, it made me worry and it made me feel threatened.” She added that she thought “I might be faced with some people demanding money from me.”
Granovskaia said in response to questions from Rubie’s lawyer Matthew Radstone that, before the email, Rubie “never threatened me, either on paper or in person.”
She also said she was not aware that Joorabchian had not mentioned Rubie’s name when he reported the alleged incident to the police.
The trial is expected to conclude next week.
Soccer agent ‘threatened’ Chelsea director over Zouma fee, UK court hears
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Soccer agent ‘threatened’ Chelsea director over Zouma fee, UK court hears
- The arrests took place in the Paris region and in southern France, the PNAT anti-terror unit said
- French prosecutors suspect the eight of preparing and financing terrorist acts
Liverpool without Salah beats Inter in Champions League. Barcelona and Bayern win
- Karl became the youngest player to score in three consecutive Champions League games
- Headers by Jules Koundé three minutes apart gave Barcelona a 2-1 comeback victory over Eintracht Frankfurt
After leaving Mohamed Salah in England, Liverpool got a much-needed boost with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Barcelona and Bayern Munich celebrated comeback wins and Chelsea lost.
With Salah out of the squad following his public criticism of the club last week, Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up instead to score the 88th-minute penalty which earned a 1-0 win over one of the competition’s best-performing teams.
It was all the more valuable for coming after a run of one win in six games in all competitions for Arne Slot’s under-pressure team, which moved up to eighth.
Liverpool’s players thought they had taken the lead with Ibrahima Konate’s header in the 31st minute but, after a video review that lasted more than four minutes, it was ruled out for handball as Virgil van Dijk had earlier nodded the ball on to the arm of Hugo Ekitike.
Having taken away a goal from Liverpool, VAR came to the visitors’ aid when it spotted that Alessandro Bastoni had tugged Florian Wirtz’s shirt in the area, with the midfielder flailing to the ground. Szoboszlai converted the penalty.
Bayern’s new star shines
Bayern’s 17-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl produced an audacious bit of skill to continue his high-scoring start to life in the Champions League in a 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon earlier Tuesday.
Karl scored his third goal in four career Champions League games, controlling a pass from Konrad Laimer in mid-air before volleying a shot from a tight angle over two onrushing defenders and past the goalkeeper.
It was part of a 12-minute, three-goal turnaround for Bayern after Joshua Kimmich’s own-goal handed Sporting the lead after João Simões put Bayern under pressure on the counter.
Serge Gnabry leveled for Bayern when he was left unmarked at a corner in the 65th, before Karl scored Bayern’s second in the 69th and defender Jonathan Tah made it 3-1 in the 77th.
Widely viewed as German soccer’s best young talent this season, Karl became Bayern’s youngest-ever Champions League scorer in October on his first start in the competitions.
Late on, Alphonso Davies came off the bench for the Canadian left back’s first game since March after a serious knee injury.
Chelsea loses
Chelsea was beaten in the Champions League for the first time in nearly three months as Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere set up the equalizer and scored an 83rd-minute winner as Atalanta came from behind to win 2-1.
Chelsea, which went ahead through Joao Pedro, dropped out of the top eight automatic qualifying spots with its second loss.
It was a fourth win for Atalanta, which climbed to third and is the highest-placed Italian team.
Gianluca Scamacca made it 1-1 by heading home a cross from De Ketelaere, who then drove in a shot that Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.
Koundé drives Barcelona comeback
Headers by Jules Koundé three minutes apart gave Barcelona a 2-1 comeback victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Marcus Rashford assisted in the first goal in the 50th and Lamine Yamal in the second in the 53rd.
The visitors had taken the lead with a goal by Ansgar Knauff in a 21st-minute breakaway at the renovated Camp Nou stadium, which still can’t hold full capacity.
Son watches Spurs win
Son Heung-min said a belated goodbye to Tottenham as his former club moved up to ninth after beating Slavia Prague 3-0 on an own goal and two penalties in a game overshadowed by a dispute over moving a rainbow flag showing support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Julián Alvarez scored for the ninth time in his last nine league-phase appearances to lead Atletico Madrid to a 3-2 come-from-behind win at PSV Eindhoven.
Marseille held on for a 3-2 win over Union Saint-Gilloise, whose players and fans twice celebrated what they thought were goals to level the score late on, only for both to be ruled out for narrow offsides on video review.
Folarin Balogun bundled the ball over the line from close range to give Monaco a 1-0 win over Galatasaray.
Olympiakos broke through a determined Kairat Almaty defense to take a 1-0 win in Kazakhstan and boost its hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages. Gelson Martins scored for the Greek side in the 73rd.
