Unfortunately, football is no longer 22 men running around a field for 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. In modern times, it’s impossible for footballers to remain out of the spotlight, whether that be for positive or negative behaviours.
A man who has constantly grabbed headlines for abhorrent reasons since January 2022 is Mason Greenwood. The young, promising English forward burst onto the scene, notching 35 goals in 135 games for Manchester United as well as making a single England appearance before his arrest and investigation last year.
With his achievements on the pitch aside, Greenwood’s behaviours towards his partner have led to Manchester United relieving him from his contractual duties at the club, seemingly forcing him into either free agency or to an alternative team.
The way that Manchester United as a club and in particular, Richard Arnold as the CEO have handled the extremely delicate situation is shocking and far more information is needed before a full conclusion is reached. Typically with United, however, we highly doubt that this will happen. The statement released by the club has left far more questions than answers.
Back Story
Waking up on January 2022, with Manchester United slugging through yet another dull season, images, videos and audio was released by the partner of Greenwood, suggesting coercive behaviour, domestic abuse and rape. The young footballer was consequently arrested by Greater Manchester Police on suspicion of rape and assault of a woman. He was suspended by the club, dropped by his sponsors, Nike, as well as being removed from EA Sports, Fifa games.
Greenwood was given bail and in April 2022, the alleged victim requested the police drop their investigation. After a re-arrest for breaching his bail conditions and a further charge of attempted rape dating back to 2021, Greenwood had a private hearing, where he was granted bail yet again.
In February this year, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped all charges against the former England forward as a result of the withdrawal of key witnesses in the case as well as new material coming to light following his arrest.
It’s worth noting that Greenwood welcomed a child with the alleged victim in July of this year, announcing the birth on Instagram and snapping an 18th-month hiatus from all forms of social media.
It was announced this week that Manchester United, following an internal investigation will no longer work with Mason Greenwood, but will aid him in the next chapter of his career. The statement from the club is as follows:
Our process commenced in February 2023, following all charges against Mason being dropped. Throughout, we have taken into account the wishes, rights and perspective of the alleged victim along with the club’s standards and values, and sought to collate as much information and context as possible. This has required us to proceed with sensitivity and care to obtain evidence not in the public domain, including from those with direct knowledge of the case. Based on the evidence available to us, we have concluded that the material posted online did not provide a full picture and that Mason did not commit the offences in respect of which he was originally charged. That said, as Mason publicly acknowledges today, he has made mistakes which he is taking responsibility for.
Issues with the Statement from the Club
The issues that have come to light are plenty. Focussing just on Manchester United’s statement, it would suggest that Mason Greenwood isn’t guilty of anything; “Mason did not commit the offences in respect of which he was originally charged”. This is, of course, difficult for many as the evidence was put out their on social media.
If this is the case, that Greenwood has done no wrong, why can’t Manchester United integrate the players back into their squad? As per the statement, he’s as deserving of a place in the squad as anyone else.
They then contradict themselves by saying; “That said, as Mason publicly acknowledges today, he has made mistakes which he is taking responsibility for”. It leaves fans in the dark, not knowing what Greenwood has done and hints that whatever mistakes he’s made are so severe that he can no longer remain at the club. With that being said, in the statement that the player himself released, it clearly states that he knows that he’s made mistakes and all but admits that the social media posts highlight previous actions of his:
“However, I fully accept I made mistakes ... and I take my share of responsibility for the situations which led to the social media post.”
The difficult thing for many to understand is firstly, how the player was not found to have done any wrongdoing, despite audio footage and imagery being posted online from the alleged victim. The second thing that many can’t understand is how, despite technically being found not guilty following an extensive internal investigation from the club, United still don’t want anything to do with the player himself. It has been revealed that United have based their outcome pruley on the account of Greenwood himself and were unable to speak to the complainant. This would suggest that the club's investigations were not completely thorough.
What’s next?
Going forward, the best possible outcome is for Greenwood to continue his career away from Old Trafford. If United get a transfer fee for the player, all money should go to a women’s domestic abuse charity, which is something that has been suggested previously.
If United were to release the player, they would have to pay off his contract, which has two further years remaining on it. It seems unjust to have to pay a player off to leave the club following his own misdemeanours.
What’s worrying is that although United’s statement suggests that Greenwood will leave the club, the club’s CEO, Richard Arnold hints that there’s a chance that Greenwood could get a loan move away before possibly being reintroduced to the squad. Arnold stated; “Although we have decided that Mason will seek to rebuild his career away from Manchester United, that does not signal the end of this matter.”
There was an understanding from within the club that there was a plan to attempt to reintegrate Greenwood back into the squad, however, following public backlash, the alternative choice was determined to be the better one.
Overall, it’s an awful situation to have come to light. It’s difficult to accept that Greenwood is totally innocent, despite being found to be not guilty by his club and charges being dropped by the alleged victim. The audio footage as images are out there for all to see.
It’s clear and obvious that the club has handled it terribly, with a decision not being made over an appropriate timeline, waiting until after the women’s World Cup (where three United players represented the Loionnesses, including the captain, Katie Zelem) to make their decision public as well as making it completely unclear as to what the next steps will be for the player.
The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell summed up the situation perfectly:
“United’s statements were blind to that social contract. For those who knew nothing of the case, it would have appeared Greenwood was the victim. That is what has been wrong with United’s handling from the outset.”
I wrote a piece about the domestic abuse issue within the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, focussing on the lead man in the UFC, Dana White. The full article can be found here.
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