Mohamed al Fayed: Former Fulham women’s team captain Ronnie Gibbons claims she was sexually abused by club’s ex-owner | British News

Former Fulham women’s team captain Ronnie Gibbons has claimed she was sexually abused twice by the club’s ex-owner Mohamed al Fayed.

Gibbons told The athlete that the former boss of Harrods tried to “forcibly kiss” her and groped her in his department store in 2000 when she was 20.

She said she was called twice to Al Fayed’s office above the London department store on the pretext of talking about football with his children, who were not there when she showed up.

Lawyers representing Gibbon told the PA news agency she had waived her anonymity and used the interview to say she felt she could not speak about the abuse at this time for fear of the endangering the future of the women’s team.

The former footballer said: “Speaking my truth and finally telling my story will hopefully help me heal and get rid of the shame, embarrassment and pain that I have carried with me for years.”

Al Fayed owned Fulham FC between 1997 and 2013.

Gibbons was captain of the women’s team during the 2000-2001 season and said she was “used.” She added: “I just felt a lot of responsibility on my shoulders because we had just turned pro.”

“Everything in me was screaming at me: ‘Ronnie, you have to go’ but I couldn’t because it would be my fault that all these women would lose their jobs and Fulham Ladies would go down the drain.”

“I couldn’t let anything happen to me, but at the same time I couldn’t just run for the hills, which is what I wanted to do.”

A statement from lawyers from the Justice for Harrods Survivors group said they would have “more to say” about Fulham next week.

Their statement said: “What former Fulham captain Ronnie Gibbons endured at the hands of Mohamed al Fayed is another horrific example of the egregious abuse that was aided and abetted by the companies he owned.”

“We salute our client’s bravery and are proud to stand up for Ronnie and others in Fulham seeking justice. We will do everything we can to expose the abuse, no matter where it occurred or who committed it, including any enablers of al-Fayed’s abhorrent behavior.”

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A series of allegations against al Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94have emerged since the publication of an investigation by the BBC.

This was announced by the Metropolitan Police last week 40 new allegations were made against al Fayed, including allegations of rape and sexual assault. They join the 21 women who went to police with allegations of sex crimes against the businessman between 2005 and 2023.

Fulham said on Friday they were “deeply disturbed” after learning of Gibbon’s allegations.

“She has our deepest sympathy and support,” the Premier League club added. “We continue to emphasize our absolute condemnation of abuse in any form.

“We are continuing to determine whether anyone at the club is or would have been affected in any way by Mohamed al Fayed, as described in recent reports.”

Marco Silva, manager of Fulham’s men’s team, said the club was “not here to hide”.

At a press conference he said: “We can all feel it, we are not here to hide. It’s sad to listen to and we must absolutely oppose it. We’re talking about something from 25 years ago, not last year, two or three years, but it’s still sad.

“We show empathy and if we as a football club can do something to support those involved, then we must do it as a club.”

Harrods reiterated its original statement on the allegations against al Fayed, telling Sky News it was “deeply appalled” by the abuse allegations.

The company said: “These were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power wherever he operated and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We also recognize that his victims failed during this time, and for that we sincerely apologize.”

“While we cannot undo the past, we are committed to doing the right thing as an organization, driven by the values ​​we represent today, while ensuring that such behavior can never be repeated in the future.”