October 21 – Mohamed Al Fayed who owned Fulham, and the luxury department store, Harrods, has been accused of sexually assaulting the former captain of the women’s team, Ronnie Gibbons.
Fayed, who passed away in 2023 aged 94, has been accused of multiple rapes by former employees of Harrods in a decades-long reign of terror.
Gibbons, 20 at the time, alleged that Fayed forcefully kissed, groped, and had twice felt trapped in a room by Fayed.
The Egyptian who owned Fulham between 1997 and 2013 inherited the women’s team after paying £30 million for the club. In his time with Fulham, both the men’s and women’s teams experienced success, and Al Fayed was widely lauded.
Upon his death, the club wrote on X, “Everyone at Fulham was incredibly saddened to learn of the death of our former Owner and Chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed.
“We owe Mohamed a debt of gratitude for what he did for our Club, and our thoughts now are with his family and friends at this sombre time”, however, it has since emerged that Fayed was a sexual predator of epic proportions with a team of people employed to keep stories under wraps.
Gibbons, who played as a defender for the Cottagers as well as representing the Republic of Ireland, won the domestic treble in 2003.
Speaking to The Athletic, she said: “Speaking my truth and finally telling my story will hopefully help me heal and be rid of the shame, embarrassment, and pain I have carried for years. If this can help one person open up and realize it’s not your fault and be free of the same burdens, then I’ll be happy.”
Gibbons, who is now 44 is the first former Fulham player to publicly speak out and detail the experiences she suffered at the hands of Fayed. A survivors group created for women assaulted by Fayed at Harrods said: “What former Fulham captain Ronnie Gibbons was forced to endure at the hands of Mohamed Al Fayed is yet another horrible example of the monstrous abuse aided and abetted by the businesses he owned.”
A club statement said: “The club is profoundly troubled to learn of the experiences told today by former women’s team captain Ronnie Gibbons. She has our deepest empathy and support.
“We continue to stress our absolute condemnation of abuse in all forms. We remain in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or would have been impacted by Mohamed Al Fayed in any manner as described in recent reports.”
Unfortunately, Gibbons, will not be the last person to speak out at the nightmare experiences endured by many.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1734960684labto1734960684ofdlr1734960684owedi1734960684sni@o1734960684fni1734960684