Football agent Saif Rubie has been found not guilty of sending a threatening email to former Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia.
The middleman broke down in tears in the dock as the jury read out the verdict before he was formally released.
Rubie was accused of sending the email on May 22, 2022, due to a payment he said he was due as part of Kurt Zouma’s move from Chelsea to West Ham in August 2021.
The officer denied threatening to hurt Granovskaia with the email and a jury has now acquitted Rubie of the charges.
He was immediately dismissed by Judge David Tomlinson.
Saif Rubie found not guilty of sending a threatening email to former Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia
The officer denied threatening to hurt Granovskaia (pictured), and a jury acquitted Rubie of the charges
The email in question read: ‘The end of a very unique season for you and Chelsea comes to an end. I am writing to you to address the outstanding issues between us over the past two years.
‘I will try to keep this email as short and to the point as possible.
‘I was with Pini [Zahavi] (an agent) recently in Dubai and he told me that you had agreed to pay me (and my two partners on that deal) 300,000 GPB for presenting West Ham’s offer for Kurt Zouma.
“However, Pini told me that you said you would pay me that money from other things in the future, which hinted [Antonio] Ruediger. As you clearly know from the moment I offered you the opportunity to extend Antonio’s contract for an additional year at the same salary, and you refused and started playing games.
‘You went to Sahr [Senesie] (an agent) and started making up lies about me and HMRC about why you didn’t want to deal with me. That alone was defamatory and cost me a lot of business and trust because of your lies.
“The truth is that I should not have associated with you from then on, but I am a gentleman and thought you would be right and because of my close personal relationships with Sahr and his brother and family and major business I do with them Outside of football, I had no intention of making an issue of your slander against me, even though you have done your best to banish me from the businesses I work very hard for and have never done anything wrong over the years, but it seems like you have a problem with me.
“Then the way you were with me was finally confirmed when I was in Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup, when I went to visit Antonio and he told me that you had approached him asking why he was friends with me and liked wanted to deal with me. with me.
‘Who do you think, going to the players like this and talking rubbish about me? What have I done to you to make you so bitter and horrible to me? Therefore, I am giving you the opportunity to make things right if you apologize for your behavior toward me.
Rubie was accused of sending the email on May 22, 2022, due to a payment he said he was due as part of Kurt Zouma’s move from Chelsea to West Ham in August 2021.
The email also included a reference to Antonio Rudiger’s departure from Chelsea in 2022
“If you don’t, I promise I will make you pay for the way you’ve been with me, personally and professionally. This isn’t a threat, so take it however you want.
“This is a promise I make to anyone who fucks/ tries to fuck me, anything in life. I’m pretty sure you would never approach Lukaku and tell him why he is with him [Federico] Pastorello, your special friend.
“In summary, you owe me and my partners 300,000, which must be paid as soon as possible. If Chelsea doesn’t pay it, you have to pay that debt. I’m done being nice to you.
“And feel free to go to your boss, who has had his recent problems, and tell him you have a big problem with me, as long as you tell him the truth about your behavior. Because in life you can’t be wrong and strong.
‘I look forward to hearing from you about the above matters and hopefully I’ll have a quick resolution to them, otherwise I guess I’ll see you when I see you.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the story about your other friend Kia [Joorabchian] when he owed me money for a year and how he finally paid it. I wouldn’t want you to end up in the same situation just because you have a personal problem with me.’
Granovskaia explained during her testimony that she felt “physically threatened” by the email, particularly the reference to Officer Kia Joorabchian.
Jurors heard that the alleged incident involving Joorabchian related to a flashpoint where his watch was allegedly confiscated by Rubie’s associates due to payment issues.
Football agent Rubie (above) has said he has opened civil proceedings against Granovskaia
However, the agreed facts of the case read out in court by prosecutor Arizuna Asante on Wednesday revealed that police found no connection between that incident and the defendant added that Joorabchian never mentioned Rubie’s name at the time.
Rubie’s name does not appear in the crime report.
Joorabchian, who was due to testify at the trial, would not be present because he had flown to America. Joorabchian also told police he was not feeling well.
Rubie says he has opened civil proceedings against Granovskaia.