Mohamed al Fayed has lashed out out critics of the 7ft 6 Michael Jackson statue he has erected outside Fulham FC’s Craven Cottage.

The Egyptian businessman has drawn a combination of criticism, ridicule and the expected Michael Jackson jokes for his decision to pay homage to his friend, who died in 2009.

@davidschneider posed this question on Twitter: “Seriously, Al Fayed. A statue of Michael Jackson? Who’s going to want a picture of their kids with that?”

Rivertynetrance wrote on YouTube: “Michael Jackson great fotballer, played with the under 12s.”


@richjpm1 tweeted:”Why have fulham got a statue of nani’s dad, Michael Jackson at craven cottage? What’s next a statue of stallone at goodison park?”


@donkey_walloppa took the statue’s creators to task:

“HA! Just seen Fulham’s Michael Jackson statue. How much did that cost? Looks like it was made by a local primary school.”

And @MattJohnson was moved to tweet:

“What next? The Gary Glitter Family Stand?”

@Browski_uk took the opportunity to have a stab at Chelsea: “Fayed’s Michael Jackson statue has scored as many goals as Torres and didn’t cost £50m.”
@chriscr10571 got in with this effort: “Michael Jackson statue unveiled at Craven Cottage ” The closest Fulham will ever get to a fucking thriller.”

%TNT Magazine% michael jackson statue at fulham twitter jokes anger mohamed al fayed1
Al-Fayed reacted angrily to the jokes and humiliating criticism.

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

“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.”

But Tweeters were soon scoring points off his angry reaction.

@Ife Fatunase:

“‘Go to hell’ is Mohammed Al Fayed’s msg to Fulham fans who don’t like Michael Jackson statue. Aren’t they already there?”

And @gavines wrote:

“Al Fayed told fans that don’t like his Michael Jackson statue to “go to hell…” where presumably they can see the king of pop in the flesh.”

However, not everyone was against the contorversial tribute.

@mbatemanuk appears to be a fan: “I’ll have the Michael Jackson statue in my garden if Fulham don’t want it.”

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf5-zsEYTsw]