The former manager of Fulham women’s team has said female players were “protected” from the club’s late owner, after staff became “aware” the billionaire had a predilection for “young, blond girls”.
Five women have alleged in recent days that they were raped by Fayed, and a number of others have alleged sexual misconduct took place while they worked at Harrods, the luxury department store that was previously owned by Fayed.
Gaute Haugenes, who managed Fulham’s women’s team between 2001 and 2003, told the BBC the allegations did not come as “the biggest surprise”. Referring to members of staff at Fulham, he said: “We were aware he liked young, blond girls. So we just made sure that situations couldn’t occur. We protected the players.”
Since this revelation, Fulham has been trying to establish whether “anyone at the club is or has been affected”.
The club is urging individuals who had experiences or information about any alleged misconduct at Fulham to contact the club or the police.
A Fulham spokesperson said: “We are deeply troubled and concerned to learn of the disturbing reports after yesterday’s documentary. We have sincere empathy for the women who have shared their experiences.
“We are in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected. Should any person wish to share information or experiences relating to these allegations, we encourage them to contact the club or the police.”
In a BBC documentary, Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, which aired on Thursday night, more than 20 women who had worked at Harrods came forward with allegations of assault and physical violence by Fayed at properties in London and Paris.
After selling Harrods in 2010, Fayed died last year at the age of 94. He bought Fulham in 1997 and the Ritz in Paris in 1979.
The culture, media and sport secretary, Lisa Nandy, told the BBC she was pleased that Fulham was carrying out an investigation. “Too often, what we see in these cases is, institutions try and withdraw and protect themselves rather than be open and transparent,” she said.
She said the case highlighted the need to protect people in their workplace from abuse by powerful individuals.
At a news conference on Friday, lawyers representing Fayed’s accusers said they suspected there were more victims from other places where Fayed worked. “Wherever he went, there will be victims,” barrister Maria Mulla said.
On Saturday, Bruce Drummond, part of the legal team that represents 37 alleged victims, said more women had come forward since the BBC investigation aired. He told BBC Radio 4 there had been 150 “new inquiries”and described it as probably “the worst case of corporate sexual exploitation of young women that … the world has ever seen”.
He said it was not just British women coming forward, but women in the US, Canada, Malaysia, Dubai and France.
He said it seemed to him “a huge conflict of interest” that Harrods was urging victims to approach the company for a settlement.
“We’re still investigating and looking at all the new inquiries that come through and deciding what’s the best format to move forward with those,” he said.
In a statement, Harrods has said it is “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse, emphasising that “these were the actions of an individual who was intent on abusing his power” and that “the Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010”.
“We also acknowledge that during this time as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise,” it said.
The company added that since new information “came to light” last year about historic allegations of sexual abuse by Fayed, “it has been our priority to settle claims in the quickest way possible, avoiding lengthy legal proceedings for the women involved. This process is still available for any current or former Harrods employees.”
