Avram Grant,Chelsea's new manager after Jose Mourinho's shock departure, lacks the required coaching qualification to run a Premier League club.
LONDON: Avram Grant, appointed Chelsea's new manager after Jose Mourinho's shock departure on Thursday, lacks the required coaching qualification to run a Premier League club.
Under its rules the Premier League stipulates that a manager must hold the UEFA Pro Licence which requires 240 hours of study and usually takes a year to gain, the BBC reported on Saturday.
Chelsea have confirmed that Grant, the former Israel manager and Chelsea's director of football, does not possess this qualification, raising questions about his long term future at Stamford Bridge.
The Premier League has relaxed its rules in the past in what it deemed exceptional circumstances involving Glenn Roeder at West Ham and Gareth Southgate at Middlesbrough.
Both men had begun studying for the Pro Licence but Roeder's studies were disrupted because of a brain tumour and Southgate was given special dispensation because of his involvement as a player with England.
Both Roeder and Southgate however possessed the lesser A and B licences but Grant does not even hold these although according to The Times he does have a letter from the Israeli Football Association saying his is an experienced coach.
The newspaper reveals the new man at the helm of the London club has written to the Israeli FA asking to enroll on one of their courses as a matter of urgency.
Grant, a close friend of owner Roman Abramovich, was thrust into the Premier League spotlight on Thursday after Mourinho's dramatic split with the club following Wednesday's 1-1 Champions League draw with Rosenborg.
His first game in charge of Chelsea could not be tougher - an away day trip to champions Manchester United on Sunday, but he will not be able to take pre-match training Saturday as he observes Yom Kippur.
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