London, Oct 18 (IANS ) Former Fulham Ladies captain Ronnie Gibbons has alleged that she was "groped" on two occasions by the football club's late owner Mohamed Al Fayed. Following her heartbreaking revelation, Fulham FC head coach Marco Silva is 'saddened' by the situation.
"If you ask me, I feel first as a human being, and of course as a manager. Sad news, it is really sad for me, I think for all of us to listen to her. As Fulham manager, definitely as a football club, all our empathy is with the situation. We are against all these types of things, all these types of abuse, clearly.
“All of us feel it, it is really sad to listen to it, and we all feel something. As a human being, you have to be completely against the situation. We’re talking about something that happened probably 25 years ago, it’s not something that happened last year or two years ago, but it’s sad anyway," said Silva to The Athletic.
According to the interview by The Athletic, She was twice summoned to Al Fayed’s office above Harrods on the pretence of speaking to the chairman’s children about football. There were no children there on either occasion.
Al Fayed's decision to invest in Fulham Ladies in 2000 saw them become the first professional side in England. Ronnie had been their captain since she was 17
“I was used. Just felt a huge responsibility on my shoulders because we’d just turned professional. Everything internally was screaming at me, ‘Ronnie, you need to leave’, but I couldn’t because I would be to blame for all these women losing their jobs and Fulham Ladies going down the pan.
“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 realise it’s not your fault and be free of the same burdens, then I’ll be happy,” said Ronnie to The Athletic.