Chelsea boss at centre of football abuse scandal
Chelsea admits that close advisers of oligarch owner authorised pay-off to victim of sex abuse by chief scout
Marina Granovskaia, an adviser to Roman Abramovich, has been dragged into the football abuse scandal after Chelsea FC said the board on which she sits had ‘requested’ a deal that prevented a victim from going public in exchange for £50,000.
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH was dragged into the football child sex abuse scandal last night after Chelsea admitted the oligarch’s closest advisers authorised the “hush money” paid to a victim.
In a lengthy statement, the club said its three-member board, which includes Marina Granovskaia, had “requested” the binding confidentiality clause that prevented the victim from going public with his abuse in exchange for £50,000 compensation.
Ms Granovskaia, who joined Chelsea’s board in 2013, is described on the club’s website as a “senior adviser” to Mr Abramovich for almost 20 years.
The other board members who approved the pay off are Bruce Buck, the club’s chairman, and Eugene Tenenbaum, a former head of finance at Sibneft, the Russian oil company where Mr Abramovich made his fortune.
In the statement Chelsea said: “At the time that the settlement was reached, the board understood it was a usual practice to include mutual confidentiality provisions as part of all settlement agreements and accordingly requested that one be included.”
The demand for the gagging clause has been roundly condemned by child sex abuse campaigners, while lawyers said the clause was extremely rare and last used regularly by the Catholic Church to cover up abuse in the Nineties. Chelsea has not said which board members were at the meeting that approved the payment. Nor is it known if Mr Abramovich was briefed directly.
But Ms Granovskaia, 41, who moved to London from Russia when Mr Abramovich bought the club in 2003, is said to be in day-to-day charge following the resignation of Ron Gourlay as chief executive in 2013. One source has said of Ms Granovskaia: “She is basically the power at Chelsea. Roman trusts her implicitly.”
The existence of the secret child abuse payment – made in July last year – was first disclosed by this newspaper.
The Telegraph revealed that Chelsea had made the payment after a former player threatened to sue after being subjected to sexual abuse by former chief scout Eddie Heath. When first approached by The Telegraph last Saturday, the club initially denied it had made any such payment. Chelsea conceded it made the payment when pressed further on Tuesday.
After coming under mounting pressure, the club agreed to withdraw the confidentiality clause the following day, allowing Gary Johnson, now aged 57, to speak publicly about his ordeal. A number of other former players have since come forward to report abuse by Heath, who died in 1983 aged 54.
Chelsea also admitted it had failed to inform the Football Association of the abuse, in a breach of the governing body’s rules.
The FA has commissioned a dedicated NSPCC helpline for adults who were victims of sexual abuse in childhood within football. The helpline is available 24 hours a day on 0800 0232642.