‘Credible evidence’ of sexual abuse at Fulham under Mohamed Al-Fayed

Justice for Harrods Survivors says lawyers have now received a number of enquiries relating to Fulham under Egyptian tycoon’s ownership

There is “credible evidence of abuse” at Fulham under the ownership Mohamed Fayed, according to lawyers representing women who allege rape and sexual abuse while working at his famous department store, Harrods.
The allegation was made today by the Justice For Harrods Survivors, which is now representing 60 women, and says that it has been contacted by more than 200 people from all over the world.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Given our prolonged experience in dealing with the women impacted by this case, we expected that anywhere Mohamed Al-Fayed went, abuse would follow. Sadly, this has proven to be true. We are now in possession of credible evidence of abuse at other Al-Fayed properties and businesses, including Fulham Football Club.”
The group led by barristers Dean Armstrong KC, Bruce Drummond and Maria Mulla, as well as the specialist US womens’ rights attorney Gloria Allred, said that the scale of the alleged abuse by Fayed had elicited a response from survivors that was “simply … enormous”. The claim was “increasingly global in scale”. The group added that “the women we represent have lost all faith in Harrods and their processes.”
Thus far Fulham have said only that they are appealing for anyone who was abused by Fayed or may have information to contact the club’s safeguarding team, or the Metropolitan police.
Fayed owned Fulham between 1997 and 2013. He bought the club with Fulham newly promoted into the third tier, now League One. He invested around £200 million in Fulham – first in getting them into the Premier League and then establishing the club in the top-flight. During that time Fulham also established the first professional women’s team and one former coach has told the BBC that club staff were warned to keep the players away from Fayed on the rare occasions he visited.
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group spokesperson said: “Since announcing our proposed claim last week, we have been responding to inquiries from more survivors of abuse, whether from their time at Harrods or in other corners of Mohamed Al-Fayed’s empire. We have also heard from others who are witnesses to that abuse. Finally, we are hearing from current employees of Harrods who are relaying both their current and historic experiences.
“We thank the BBC for including our team in their original journalism, and we thank our friend and colleague Keaton Stone and other media for sharing the stories of the dozens of survivors we represent with such great care. We also salute the courage of the many survivors who are now speaking for the first time about their experiences. Their courage and visibility is helping our team expand our understanding of Harrods’ vast system of abuse.
“The response has simply been enormous. To date, we have fielded well over 200 inquiries, messages that are coming from all over the world. As a result of this activity, we can confirm that we now represent 60 survivors as part of our claim, with more to come. To reiterate, our claim is becoming increasingly global in scope. We thank each of these brave women for placing their trust in us as we now move forward together.”
In a statement Fulham urged anyone affected to contact their safeguarding team or the Metropolitan police. A spokesman said: “We remain in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected by the reports concerning Mr Al Fayed.”
Fayed’s predatory behaviour was said to be an open secret among staff at Harrods. The seriousness and scale of his offending, first revealed by the BBC documentary broadcast and streamed this month, has proved shocking. By anecdotal accounts given to the Telegraph he was present at Craven Cottage much less than at Harrods, and even more rarely at the club’s south-west London training ground Motspur Park.
On matchdays Fayed arrived at Craven Cottage in time to walk across the pitch before kick-off and wave to the crowd. He stayed in his seat until half-time when he used his lounge that was often full of aides. He rarely watched more than 20 minutes of the second half before leaving.
Last week, lawyers representing 37 of those accusing the late billionaire of offences, including rape and other forms of sexual assault, said that more than 100 women had come forward since the BBC documentary. The Met has revealed that 19 women made allegations of offences by Fayed ranging from 1979 to 2013 before his death, aged 94 last year. No further action was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Fayed sold Fulham to the US billionaire Shahid Khan in 2013 for around £200 million. He had bought it for less than £7 million.
A Football Association spokesperson: “We are aware of the reports and we will remain in contact with Fulham FC to monitor the matter.”
I knew about Fayed but was silenced by a system that protects the rich