Former Chelsea manager accused of rape
It was alleged that Grant had made unwanted sexual advances towards multiple women over decades.
The former Premier League manager Avram Grant has been accused of being a sexual predator who preyed on young women who hoped he would help them to find work.
The claims were made in an Israeli television investigation and Grant, 66, has not confirmed or denied the allegations. He has, though, apologised “to anyone who felt uncomfortable or hurt”.
Grant managed Chelsea, whom he took to a Champions League final in 2008, Portsmouth and West Ham United during a long career that included spells in charge of national teams Israel and Ghana and a number of clubs in Israel. His most recent job in football, with the Indian side NorthEast United FC, ended in 2018.
He also coached the Fifa representative team at the recent Arab Cup in Qatar and on Monday night Fifa said in a statement: “Given the nature of the allegations being made, Fifa’s ethics committee will look into the matter. When it comes to misconduct and abuse in football, we wish to reiterate that Fifa takes any allegations reported to it very seriously.”
In an investigation by the TV programme Exposure, which aired on Israel’s Channel 12 on Sunday, it was alleged that Grant had made unwanted sexual advances towards multiple women over decades.
In one case, a 21 year-old who was introduced to him two years ago in the hope of getting help to find a job said: “He said a few times that we need to meet first so he can really get to know me.” He invited her to a flat in Tel Aviv and told her: “Feel comfortable, take off your clothes.”
She said: “I thought he was joking. I sat far from him and he asked me to get closer and tried to hug me. He really held me and wouldn’t let go.
“After a few seconds of conversation, he grabbed my throat, as if he was choking me, moved my head and tried to forcibly kiss me.” She said she was too numb to leave and “at some stage he took my hand and put it on his penis”. She managed to lock herself in a bathroom and escaped.
Another woman claimed that she went to meet Grant a few years ago in London to discuss a potential job and “from nowhere he laid down on the bed and began to undress, trying to brainwash me into having sex with him”.
In response to the allegations, Grant said in a statement that “in all my personal and professional life, beyond my achievements and success I’ve prioritised being a human being and acting with honesty, giving respect to every woman and man, whoever they are.
“I’m a people person, a man of friendships and over the years I’ve had relationships with women. In all these relationships I’ve tried very hard to act with respect and friendship and I never meant to act unfairly or hurt any woman in any way.
“I am sorry and apologise from the depth of my heart to anyone who felt uncomfortable or hurt by me.”
