An ex-Fulham women's manager has claimed female players were 'protected' from then-owner Mohamed Al Fayed amid allegations of rape against him.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Female players 'were not allowed to be left alone' with Al-FayedEgyptian owned Fulham between 1997 and 2013Al-Fayed passed away in August 2023 aged 94WHAT HAPPENED?
In a BBC documentary, several women accused Al-Fayed of raping them during their time working for high-end London department store Harrods, which the billionaire owned.
Gaute Haugenes, who managed the Fulham's women's team between 2001 and 2003, revealed that staff were aware that Al-Fayed "liked young blonde girls", leading to precautions being taken to protect the club's female players.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Al-Fayed spent 16 years as Fulham owner before selling the club in 2013, with the Egyptian-born businessman passing away last year at the age of 94. Allegations had surrounded Al-Fayed over his conduct as far back as 1997, however no charges were pressed while he was alive despite questioning from the police.
WHAT HAUGENES SAID
"I read all the newspapers yesterday of course and to be honest it's not the biggest surprise," Haugenes said. "We were aware he liked young, blonde girls. So we just made sure that situations couldn't occur. We protected the players."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR FULHAM AND AL-FAYED ALLEGATIONS?
Lawyers representing Al Fayed's accusers told a news conference on Friday it was 'unlikely' there were not more alleged victims. Fulham said they were trying to establish whether anyone at the club had been affected and encouraged people to come forward to its safeguarding department or the police.
