Chelsea try to have soccer agent Saif Rubie’s authorized declare towards the membership resolved exterior of courtroom.
Rubie said at first of September he was submitting a lawsuit towards the Premier League membership and its former director Marina Granovskaia.
The London-born agent believes he’s owed cash from the switch that took Kurt Zouma from Chelsea to West Ham United in August, 2021.
Chelsea are as an alternative trying to get the case taken to arbitration, whereby the dispute can be resolved by a impartial third occasion exterior of courtroom.
The membership imagine the Soccer Affiliation’s (FA) soccer agent rules decide that such a case must be taken to arbitration.
The FA’s agent rules state: “Disputes arising out of, or in reference to, a Illustration Settlement with out a global dimension shall be solely decided between the events underneath Rule Ok (Arbitration) of the Guidelines.”
The FA’s agent rules are binding for all “members”. Nonetheless, Rubie’s facet believes Rule Ok doesn’t apply as a result of Granovskaia is now not in soccer and so just isn’t a “participant”.
Granovskaia departed Chelsea in June 2022, having labored on the membership since 2003.
Rubie nonetheless believes the case must be heard in courtroom, together with his spokesperson stating: “Chelsea and Ms Granovskaia have a transparent curiosity in stopping Mr Rubie’s declare from being heard in open courtroom given present investigations into the membership and its actions underneath its earlier possession.”
Rubie was discovered not responsible on the cost of malicious communications in the direction of Granovskaia in April 2024 following a trial at Southwark Crown Court docket. The cost associated to an e mail despatched by Rubie to Granovskaia in Could 2022, the place the agent demanded a fee from the sale of Zouma to West Ham the earlier summer season.
Throughout April’s trial, the courtroom heard Rubie believed he acted as an middleman on Chelsea’s behalf throughout the Zouma deal — and as such was due a fee on any switch price obtained above €30million (£25.6m, $32.2m). Each events disputed the precise sum, whereas Granovskaia argued that Rubie by no means represented Chelsea, and as an alternative sought to contain himself within the deal.
Rubie had insisted he was owed a £300,000 fee from the switch, with the deal to convey France worldwide Zouma to West Ham value €33.9m.
Granovskaia’s facet declined to remark when approached by The Athletic.
GO DEEPER
Marina Granovskaia, Saif Rubie and a trial revealing ‘the tough and ugly facet of soccer’
(Jordan Pettitt/PA Photographs through Getty Photographs)
