Al Fayed tells Fulham fans to beat it

Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed unveiled the much anticipated statue of Michael Jackson at Craven Cottage on Sunday, an event that was met with predictable ridicule.

“Why is it bizarre?,” Al Fayed said after the unveiling. “Football fans love it. If some stupid fans don’t understand and appreciate such a gift they can go to hell.”

He went on: “I don’t want them to be fans. If they don’t understand and don’t believe in things I believe in they can go to Chelsea, they can go to anywhere else. People will queue to come and visit it from all over the UK and it is something that I and everybody else should be proud of.”

Despite being told to “go to hell” (or Chelsea, which is basically the same thing for Cottagers fans), Fulham supporters greeted Al Fayed’s statement with a mild manner. While it was difficult to find a Fulham fan in support of the statue, the general feeling was that as bizarre as it is, Al Fayed has earned the right to do as he wants. Pumping around £200m into a football club has to have its rewards.

In fact, the unveiling provided a great source of humour throughout the match. Regular ‘yee-hees’ were heard throughout the game, a Jackson impersonator made an appearance and a bizarrely well rehearsed chorus of ‘Can You Feel It’ from some sections of the Hammersmith End added the gloss to a fine win over Blackpool.

How Manchester United fans would react if Malcolm Glazer told them to “go to hell”, or the change in mood at Liverpool if John W Henry labelled fans “stupid” would, I expect, be very different. But that’s the difference. As Al Fayed himself once sang in a song recorded with Keith Allen: “We are not Real Madrid, We are not Barcelona, We are Fulham,” and at Fulham it never gets too serious.

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• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Y5N47WGWKF5TCCMX635TVB3FWU mathias

  perfect example of how the privileged and incredibly rich are soooo detached from the rest of the world. completely ridiculous, the guy just has no clue..

• Guest

  Is the rumoured Prince Philip statue really coming or have I just fallen for another April fools story?

• barabu

  It is touching for the fans to believe anyone gives a damn about them. Fayed came out and said it but why would anyone think he gave a toss?

• Guest

  Chelsea paid £50 million for their statue!!