Fulham owner Mohammed Al Fayed has told fans who don’t like his tribute to late pop star Michael Jackson to ‘go to hell’ after unveiling a statue of the singer at Craven Cottage prior to the team’s 3-0 home win over Blackpool on Sunday. Jackson, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 50, was a close friend of Al Fayed, but the decision to put up a statue commemorating the pop icon outside Fulham’s home ground didn’t appeal to many fans, who questioned just what the American had to do with the Cottagers.
Fulham Unveil Michael Jackson Statue at Craven Cottage
After showing off the statue for the first time, Al Fayed had a message for the doubters - Beat It:
If some stupid fans don’t understand and appreciate such a gift this guy gave to the world they can go to hell.
I don’t want them to be fans [of Fulham FC].
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.
Fulham is, after all, Al Fayed’s team, and he can do more or less whatever he wants with it, however bizarre. The owner was backed up by several of his players, including centre back Brede Hangeland:
Some of our players are Michael Jackson fans, some aren’t, and that’s the same in the general population.
His music has been on in the dressing room a couple of times. I’m sure we won when his music was played!
We have the deepest respect for everything about the chairman. If he wants to do this then it is all good.
It does indeed seem a little strange that a man who had been to Craven Cottage all of once is memorialised in such a fashion - and Fulham fans will be the butt of jokes about it over the next few decades, no doubt - but at the end of the day, the statue’s there and there’s not a whole lot anyone can do about it, other than becoming Chelsea fans.
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