Fulham's Europa League opponents are barred entry to Harrods

Posted Thursday, February 18, 2010 by theguardian.com

Fulham's Europa League opponents are barred entry to Harrods
Fulham's manager, Roy Hodgson, was surprised to hear about Shakhtar's misfortune at Harrods.

Fulham face Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 32 of the Europa League, with the Ukrainian team smarting after being refused entry yesterday to Harrods, which is owned by their opponents' chairman, Mohamed al Fayed. The incident is bound to cause him embarrassment.

Shakhtar, who won last year's competition when it was still the Uefa Cup, have made public their disappointment at being denied access to the Knightsbridge store. A statement on the club's website read: "The players decided to increase the earnings of one of London's reputable shops – Harrods. The footballers, who have money and are eager to buy a lot, were certain to leave [a] big sum.

"You may be surprised but the Miners [Shakhtar's nickname] weren't allowed to enter the shop.

"The staff said that the group of customers was too big and suspicious. All of them were wearing similar tracksuits. The players explained this was the football team and were not in the habit of taking tuxedos to the training camp to go shopping. But those explanations were fruitless."

Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, was surprised to hear about the episode. He said: "I'm surprised to hear it, the chairman [Fayed] normally loves people to spend their money with him."

A Harrods spokesperson told the Guardian: "There are periods, when the store is at its busiest, that Harrods has to take the difficult decision to deny access to tour parties and larger groups of visitors. This is done in the interest of health and safety. Needless to say, we do not wish to offend or upset visitors when making these decisions."

On the field Hodgson concedes his team are underdogs against a Shakhtar side that play a technical, passing game influenced by the five Brazilians that should start tonight. "We're talking about a team that's competed in the Champions League for the last few seasons and has won the Uefa Cup," he acknowledged. "But Roma are second in the Italian league and Basel are a top European team, and we played very well against them [in the group stage]. So I have every confidence."

Probable line-ups

Fulham (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Shorey; Davies, Etuhu, Murphy, Duff; Zamora, Elm.

Shakhtar Donetsk (4-5-1): Pyatov; Hyubschman, Kucher, Rakitsky, Rat; Srna, Fernandinho, Jadson, Willian, Ilsinho; Adriano.