Soccer agent appears in London court over email to ex-Chelsea director

LONDON : A soccer agent appeared in a London court on Wednesday charged with sending a threatening email to a former director at Premier League club Chelsea FC.

Saif Rubie is said to have sent an email to Marina Granovskaia on May 22 with intent to cause distress or anxiety in relation to the transfer of French defender Kurt Zouma from Chelsea to West Ham.

The 44-year-old, from west London, did not enter a plea to one count under the Malicious Communications Act at a brief hearing at Southwark Crown Court.

His lawyer Warwick Aleeson said the case involved “effectively a contractual dispute” between Rubie and Granovskaia over the “transfer of a player to the value in excess of 30 million euros and the commission owed to this defendant”.

Rubie – whose name appeared on court lists as Saif Alrubie – was released on bail ahead of a further hearing in April 2023.