Chelsea have sacked their commercial director less than a month after employing him after it emerged that he had sent ‘inappropriate messages’ before he joined the club.
The club confirmed that they had terminated the contract of Damian Willoughby ‘with immediate effect’ after they were made aware of the content of the messages.
Willoughby was in his second spell at Stamford Bridge. He took a key role, with Chelsea’s new US owners looking to maximise off-the-field revenue.
However, Willoughby has now departed after less than four weeks with the club. A Chelsea statement read:
‘Chelsea Football Club confirms that it has terminated commercial director Damian Willoughby’s employment with immediate effect.
‘Evidence of inappropriate messages sent by Mr. Willoughby, prior to his appointment at Chelsea FC earlier this month, has recently been provided to and investigated by the club.
‘While they were sent prior to his employment at the club, such behaviour runs absolutely counter to the workplace environment and corporate culture being established by the club’s new ownership.
‘The club’s owners are working tirelessly to set and achieve the highest standards both on and off the pitch, and are determined to establish and nurture a culture of transparency, accountability, inclusivity, diversity and opportunity.
‘The club is committed to creating an environment which embodies these values.’Kim is said to have made a complaint to the Blues president of business Tom Glick, who hired Willoughby, to claim that she had been s*xually harassed before his employment by the club and alleges she felt threatened over the telephone, Mail Online reports.
Kim held talks with Glick, who became the first appointment of the new Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital owners in July, on behalf of overseas investors who want to pump hundreds of millions of pounds into the club’s mens’, womens’ and academy teams.
Kim provided Glick with a series of messages that were sent last year by Willoughby in which he asked her if she was n@ked, brought up the subject of having s*x, posted an alleged sexually explicit video and suggested he would arrange a meeting with City chief executive Ferran Soriano if she was willing to be ‘naughty’, according to Telegraph Sport.
The messages are said to have become angry after Kim rejected a proposal from Willoughby to help fund a bid to buy Chelsea that was expected to rival the bid of Todd Boehly and Clearlake.
Kim raised her concerns with Glick over the involvement of Willoughby after that first meeting, initially surrounding his attempt to raise investment as part of a bid to buy Chelsea.
The Telegraph report believes she alleges this prompted an angry phone call from Willoughby. Kim then forwarded Glick eight screenshots of messages of a s*xual nature, including the alleged s*xually explicit video, on September 3 – two days before Willoughby’s official start date at Chelsea.
She then made a complaint after Willoughby started working for Chelsea and talks have since stalled over her proposed investment project.
