Former Fulham Ladies captain Ronnie Gibbons has alleged that she was sexually assaulted twice by the club’s late owner, Mohamed Al Fayed.

Gibbons, who captained Fulham during the 2000-01 season, claimed that Al Fayed – who was the chairman of the west London club between 1997 and 2013 – assaulted her in an office at Harrods, the department store he owned in Knightsbridge.

Lawyers representing Gibbons have informed the PA news agency that she has waived her right to anonymity, using an interview with The Athletic to disclose that she felt unable to speak out about the abuse at the time due to fears it could threaten the future of the women’s team.

She told The Athletic: “I was exploited. I felt an enormous sense of responsibility because we had just turned professional.

“Everything inside me was screaming, ‘Ronnie, you need to leave,’ but I couldn’t, as I feared I would be blamed for these women losing their jobs and Fulham Ladies being dissolved.

“I couldn’t let anything happen to me, but at the same time, I couldn’t just run away, even though that was what I desperately wanted to do.”

On both occasions where she claims to have been assaulted, Gibbons said she was summoned to see Al Fayed and was driven from the club’s training ground to Harrods by a member of staff. The reason given on both occasions was that Al Fayed’s children wanted to talk to her about football.

The Justice for Harrods Survivors group issued a statement, saying: “What former Fulham captain Ronnie Gibbons was forced to endure at the hands of Mohamed Al Fayed is yet another appalling example of the horrendous abuse enabled by the businesses he owned.

“We commend our client’s courage and are proud to advocate on behalf of Ronnie and others at Fulham who are seeking justice. We will do all we can to bring to light this abuse, regardless of where it happened or who was responsible, including any enablers of Al Fayed’s abhorrent behaviour. We will share more on Fulham Football Club next week.”

In response, Fulham Football Club released a statement: “We categorically condemn all forms of abuse. We are actively investigating whether any individuals at the club were affected by Mohamed Al Fayed in the manner described in recent reports.

“We strongly encourage anyone with information or experiences related to this matter to contact the police or the club through [email protected].”

During his weekly press conference on Friday, Fulham men’s team manager Marco Silva addressed the issue, stating: “Fifteen days ago, a colleague of yours mentioned something different about the former Fulham owner which wasn’t related to the club. Now, you’re referring to the former captain of the women’s team, and this time it concerns us.

“We’re not here to evade this issue. It’s distressing to hear, and we must take a firm stand against it. Although this refers to events that allegedly happened 25 years ago, it is still heartbreaking. As a football club, we must show empathy and provide any support we can to those affected.”

The Metropolitan Police announced last Friday that they are investigating 40 new allegations, including rape and sexual assault, against Al Fayed and others, spanning from 1979 to 2013.

The police stated that they had been contacted by numerous individuals following the BBC’s investigation into Al Fayed. These new allegations are in addition to those the police were already aware of prior to the BBC’s report and documentary.