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Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant has been accused of sexual harassment, with an Israeli TV investigation detailing a series of claims relating to alleged conduct on the part of the 66-year-old.
Grant, who led the London club to the final of the 2007-08 Champions League, also spent time in charge at Portsmouth and West Ham United, as well as spending several years as manager of the Israeli men’s national team.
The allegations relate to incidents said to have taken place as recently as 2020, with one of the accusers just 22 years of age at the time of the alleged offence.
Grant said of the accusations: “Anyone who has felt uncomfortable or hurt by me, I regret it and apologize from the bottom of my heart.”
According to the Times of Israel, the women giving speaking in the ‘Exposure’ TV show are prominent journalists whose identity was protected.
The investigative show, which aired on Israel’s Channel 12, saw journalist Haim Etgar present close to an hour of comments from several women.
One of the accusers has alleged that a 2020 interaction with Grant involved the manager inviting her to his apartment with a view to helping her find work, only for the former Ghana manager to allegedly grab her by the neck.
“He told me, ‘Make yourself comfortable, take off your clothes.’ I thought he was joking. I was sitting far away from him, on the edge of the couch. He asked me to come closer and tried to hug me, really grabbed me and did not let go,” she said, per the Times of Israel’s report.
“I felt uncomfortable, he put his hand on my thigh, and I remember immediately moving his hand. After a few seconds of talking, he grabbed me by the neck, as if choking me, turned my head to him, and tried to kiss me by force.”
The woman in question said she immediately said no, and added that Grant refused to let her leave the premises.
She also alleges that Grant took her hand and placed it on his crotch, and she says “I didn’t have the courage to say no to him” when asked not to leave.
The woman in question, who was 22 years old at the time of the alleged offence, was one of a number to speak to the ‘Exposure’ show.
One sports journalist, who remained anonymous, accused Grant of making inappropriate comments after initially offering to help her with her career.
Another accuser, a model, alleges that Grant invited her to meet him in England after offering to help her with her career.
She claims Grant took off his clothes when they were together in a hotel room, before attempting to convince her to have sex with him.
“I said no a million times, but he persisted and persisted… I felt that I had to, so he would let me go,” she said.
Responding to the allegations, Grant did not refute the accusations.
“In my life, both in a personal and professional capacity, I have always sought, above and beyond any successes or achievements, to prioritize staying a human being and to respect every woman or man, whoever they may be,” he said.
“I am a people person, a man of friendships. And over the years I have maintained relationships with women. In all these relationships I have tried very hard to treat them with respect and friendship and I never intended to behave unfairly or in any way harm any woman. Anyone who has felt uncomfortable or hurt by me, I regret it and apologize from the bottom of my heart.”
Grant, who began his managerial career in the 1980s after a spell as a youth coach in Israel, has not managed a game since a spell in temporary charge of Indian side NorthEast United ended in 2018.
His last permanent managerial post saw him take charge of Ghana’s national team, leaving the role in 2017 after defeat in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final.
The experienced coach was recently in Sierra Leone and there were wide speculation of him being the possible replacement of Joh Keister.
