The revelations about the allegations against deceased Mohammed Al Fayed, involving five former employees of Harrods claiming that he raped and sexually assaulted them have no end in sight, and new evidence is coming to light all the time.
This time a former coach of the Fulham women’s team says extra measures were taken to protect the girls by club owner Mohammed Al Fayed.
Gaute Haugenes, who coached the club from 2001 to 2003, told the BBC that staff members knew the billionaire“liked young, blonde girls.”
This resulted in the girls being left alone with Al Fayed, who owned the club for 16 years.
In a BBC documentary, several women accused Al Fayed of raping them when they worked at the luxury London department store.
Lawyers representing Al Fayed’s accusers said it was considered “unlikely” that there were no more alleged victims.
Well done Fulham for protecting your female staff, but why not just report him to the police instead. Fulham ‘protected’ women’s players from Al Fayed https://t.co/9O014YZmhO
– Scott Small (@scottjsmall) September 21, 2024</blockquote
“At this stage we are not representing any woman who, for example, suffered any assault at Fulham Football Club, but our investigations are continuing into all the areas she was involved in,” said lawyer Maria Mulla.
“It is highly unlikely that there are no other victims. It is considered certain that wherever he went, there will be victims.”
Fulham said it wants to find out if anyone from the club has been victimized. It is encouraging people to make a complaint.
“I read all the papers and to be honest I wasn’t surprised, said Haugenes.“We knew he liked young, blonde girls. So we made sure they were close to him. We protected the players.”
Al Fayed bought Fulham in 1997. During his tenure as owner, the men’s team was promoted from the third tier of English football to the Premier League.
He set up the women’s team in 2000 and was the top team in Europe but was relegated, resulting in the withdrawal of funding in 2006. Haugenes also said he was paid by Harrods, not Fulham, during his time at the club.
“When the payment receipt came from Harrods it was quite strange. Also, the contract said they could put me in the food shop in Dublin if that’s what I wanted. That wouldn’t happen today.”
On the complaints, Fulham said in a statement: “We are deeply troubled and concerned by all that has come to light. We express our sympathy to the women who have shared their experiences. Should anyone wish to share information about these allegations, we encourage them to contact the club at safeguarding@fulhamfc.com or the police.”
