Sitting with Sir Alex and Getting 'Knocked Out' – The Lenswoman's Stories

Imagine receiving an invitation to take a seat beside Sir Alex Ferguson in the Manchester United dugout in the middle of a pivotal European match. What would you do?

To photographer the lenswoman, this wasn't a hypothetical on a torrential night in Moscow in 1992. Soaked from the horizontal rain, she was presented with an extraordinary decision: an ideal but soggy vantage point or a dry seat between Ferguson and his assistant Brian Kidd.

As the first female photographer to gain top-division accreditation, unusual situations were par for the course. She chose the dugout.

'Come and Sit Between Kiddo and Me'

After a goalless first leg in Manchester, the return fixture in Russia was as unpredictable as the conditions. Haroun recalls never seeing rain like it. Her equipment was soaking, and her cameras were likely to fail of breaking down.

Noticed by Ferguson in the second half, he called out, "You must be a bit wet?" before instructing her to "Sit between Kiddo and myself." She spent the rest of the match there, though she would have preferred behind the goal for superior shots.

After a second 0-0 draw, United were defeated on penalties. Centre-back Gary Pallister, who missed the final kick, was seen crying into his shirt. Facing the dugout, he presented Haroun with a potential back-page photograph.

Preparing her flash, she knew Ferguson would be furious. True to form, the manager glared at her and warned, "Do that, I'll never speak to you again!"

'My Gender Made Me a Target'

Regardless of her long-standing family ties to Manchester United—with relatives having served as directors—Haroun's journey as a woman in a overwhelmingly male field was far from easy.

She found it tough to be taken seriously and believed she was often "singled out" by security and police as the "easiest target." This even led to an incident at a volatile Leeds vs. Manchester United match, where crowd trouble broke out.

"I was the one that got arrested because I'm the weakest link, I'm a woman," she stated.

Try to Run the Wright Way

Proximity to the action came with physical risks. Haroun was once "knocked out" by rocks thrown by supporters at an English club match in Turkey.

The hazard wasn't limited to the players themselves. Strikes from stars like Wayne Rooney and Denis Irwin also left her dazed. On one such occasion, Bryan Robson allegedly joked, "Pick a different target, Denis, make sure it's not the chairman's cousin!"

However, players could also be accommodating. Prior to an Arsenal match, she told iconic striker Ian Wright to celebrate her if he scored. He scored, but at first ran the opposite way.

To her relief, Wright realised, stopped, turned back, and ran towards her with a triumphant yell, allowing for the "ideal picture" she had hoped for.

A Feline Named Carrington

Away from football, Haroun is a known cat lover. Her family of seven cats once grew thanks to an unexpected call from a long-serving staff member at Manchester United's Carrington training ground.

Informed of an stray cat, Haroun was reluctant—she already had 23 at the time. But, a familiar gruff voice came on the line and ordered her: "You have to take it!"

Heeding Sir Alex Ferguson's directive, she adopted the cat and named her Carrington.