Former Chelsea, West Ham and Portsmouth manager Avram Grant has been the subject of a number of sexual harassment allegations going back years.
The 66-year-old has not denied the claims, and is said to have apologised from “the bottom of his heart”, according to a stunning report in the Times of Israel.
A large number of women involved in football reportedly gave hours of testimonies against Grant, with the Israeli tactician widely accused of offering to advance their careers if they slept with him.
One of the rather gruesome stories also alleges that Grant held his exposed penis over a woman while she was sleeping, and others gave details of how he rather aggressively approached them asking them to remove their clothes.
One woman detailed how he came onto her when initially offering to help her find work during a talk at his apartment as recently as 2020.
“He told me, ‘Make yourself comfortable, take off your clothes.’ I thought he was joking,” she said.
“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.
“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,” she said, adding that she immediately said no.
Another woman, an unnamed Israeli model, claimed he took off his clothes in front of her and asked for sex during a meeting at a hotel.
“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.
These allegations sound damning against Grant, who is most well known in English football for his spell as Chelsea manager.
Grant led the Blues to the Champions League final, where they were beaten by Manchester United in 2008. He later also led Portsmouth to the FA Cup final, where they were beaten by his former club Chelsea in 2010.
It’s quit unfortunate, but those are human errors which many of us men find in our ways. Some are even more grave than these ones. Avram be courageous as these hard times will reach a time and disappear. But never repeat the same. Jonathan kirya