For Fulham, the shadow of the new allegations made last week against their former owner, Mohamed Al Fayed, is inescapable. In the words of Dean Armstrong KC, representing 37 women who allege they were sexually abused by Al Fayed, Fulham were once owned by “a monster”.
This week, a BBC investigation published the testimonies of more than 20 female ex-employees of the London department store Harrods, who allege the Egyptian businessman sexually assaulted them. Five have said they were raped by him. This is alleged to have occurred during his 25-year ownership of Harrods between 1985 and 2010.
Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, was the owner of Harrods from 1985 to 2010 and Fulham between 1997 and 2013. Fulham’s recent history overlaps with Harrods through Al Fayed and the luxury department store became intertwined with the west London football club, sometimes sharing directors and key staff.
The initial allegations were outlined in a documentary titled Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods. The victims paint a disturbing and horrific picture of systematic exploitation and abuse of power and suggest Al Fayed’s alleged behaviour was enabled by others. Harrods, as an institution, is portrayed as not only failing to intervene but helping to cover up the abuse. In a statement,…
