Court proceedings deemed offside: English High Court stays court proceedings against former Chelsea FC club director in favour of arbitration
In Alrubie v Chelsea Football Club Ltd & Anor [2025] EWHC 541 (Comm), Marina Granovskaia ("Ms. Granovskaia"), a former director and employee of Chelsea Football Club ("Chelsea FC"), applied to stay court proceedings brought by football agent and intermediary Saif Alrubie ("Mr. Alrubie"). Mr. Alrubie initiated proceedings against Ms. Granovskaia claiming that she induced Chelsea FC to breach a contract pursuant to which he was entitled to commission for his role in introducing Kurt Zouma's transfer from Chelsea to West Ham United Football Club.[1]
Ms. Granovskaia successfully applied for a stay of proceedings in favour of arbitration with the English High Court implying a horizontal contract to arbitrate between Ms. Granovskaia and Mr. Alrubie to give effect to the vertical contracts that each of them had separately entered into with The Football Association ("The FA").[2] In these circumstances, a horizontal contract is an implied agreement between two parties who have not directly agreed on a particular subject, such as how to resolve disputes between them. Horizontal contracts can be formed when both parties have separate agreements, known as vertical contracts, with a third party (e.g. The FA).
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- Tags: Arbitration | Dispute Resolution | Football | Governance | Regulation | Rule K | The Football Association (The FA) | United Kingdom (UK)
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Written by
Mike McClure KC
Neil Blake
Neil is a partner in Herbert Smith Freehills' award-winning commercial litigation practice. Neil helps clients deal with a wide range of commercial disputes and all forms of dispute resolution, including High Court and appellate litigation, arbitration, adjudication and mediation. He is a CEDR-accredited mediator.
Neil has extensive experience of contractual and tortious disputes, professional negligence claims, M&A litigation, claims for breach of directors' duties, and shareholder and bondholder disputes. He also has a particular interest in class actions, particularly those arising from transnational torts and ESG issues, and has acted in several of the leading cases in the area.
Jake Savile-Tucker
Jake is a Senior Associate and Solicitor Advocate in the international arbitration practice at Herbert Smith Freehills.
Jake specialises in international arbitration and commercial litigation with a particular focus on sports, supply chain and, hospitality disputes. His practice comprises multi-jurisdictional work and has involved advising and representing clients in disputes under major arbitral rules (including the DIFC-LCIA, ICC, and SIAC Rules).
He was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2017 and is currently based in the London office, having also spent six months with the international arbitration group in Paris and on secondment to the Regulatory Litigation and Strategic Counselling team in British American Tobacco.
