Mason Greenwood should never wear a Manchester United jersey again
Don't make people choose between their morals and the team they love.
Last season was the first time in over a decade that I ventured back to Old Trafford. In my youth, across 4 seasons or so, my uncles had brought me over to a myriad of games. I can’t remember all of them, but it felt like I had been there 20 times at least.
My last time there was with my uncle on Boxing Day 2011. I was 12 years old. A 5-0 demolition of Wigan. A Berbatov hat-trick, Valencia scoring against his former team, and my favourite player Park Ji-sung opening the scoring.
Then, a 10+ year gap.
I went to Secondary School and got into Rugby. I’m a chunky lad, and the game just suited my physical abilities down to the ground. So I mainly abandoned football. I kept up to the date with scores, watched some of the bigger games, started my FIFA Career Mode saves with a United one every year, and even went over to the Moyes era 0-3 win vs Aston Villa on a trip with my school.
I began to truly love football and Manchester United again after the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2018. I can still remember the excitement that built up inside me awaiting the start of the 2019 season, and the pure elation I felt after that notorious 4-1 drubbing of Chelsea.
My return to the Theatre of Dreams was again the 0-0 draw vs Watford last season under Rangnick. The day had an awful feeling to it even before kick off. My uncle and I had travelled over from Dublin that morning, flying into Liverpool. We got the train into the city, then ventured out to the bar where we were meant to get our tickets. The guy we were getting tickets off of seemed to have forgotten about us, and left us scrambling around to go get tickets off of other people he knew pre-game.
We got in just in time for kick off. Unfortunately the tickets we had gotten had us separated. He was in the Stretford End. I was up the very back of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand. Got no time to experience the fanfare pre-game, or see the stadium properly. Didn’t even get to hear “This is the One”. The game was a dour affair, the team playing like they were incapable of an ounce of movement between the lines. It was the first time I’d ever seen United not win a game.
I swore I’d be back. I hadn’t gotten the experience. Hadn’t been able to breathe in the atmosphere pre-game.
A few weeks later I returned, by myself for the first time. Norwich. I stayed the night before and did the stadium tour. Randomly met Zidane Iqbal in the city the day before. Made sure I got the ticket very early the day of the game. Walked around the stadium taking in the vibes from other fans, hearing what the talking points of the day were for the average punter. United won 3-2. An unconvincing performance, but a win. I even got to meet some sportswriting idols after the game.
Everything was there to make this a perfect day. But it wasn’t. I should have been elated making my way home that night but I couldn’t help but look back on the day and see a film of sickly grey plonked over each image.
Cristiano Ronaldo had scored a hat-trick and won United the game that day. Supporting a team with him in it always made me feel ill.
Ronaldo had visited Las Vegas in the summer of 2009. They stayed in a suite at the Palms Place Hotel and, on the night of June 12, the then 24-year-old footballer met model Kathryn Mayorga in a nightclub. Paparazzi images from the night captured the two in conversation.
Mayorga, then 25, alleged she and a friend were invited by Ronaldo to come back to his hotel suite, where she claimed she was raped by him. A detailed account of the alleged events was given by Mayorga in an interview with Der Spiegel.
Mayorga first went to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) the following day to file a complaint but declined to give the name of her assailant or the location of the assault.
Mayorga, who has said she was fearful of the public backlash, opted instead to initiate civil proceedings against Ronaldo in the weeks that followed. In documents dated from September 2009 and seen by Der Spiegel Ronaldo was quoted as saying “she said no and stop several times” during sex. He is also said to have apologised afterwards.
Las Vegas police re-investigated the alleged crime in 2018 and concluded that the claims could not “be proven beyond reasonable doubt”.
Presumption of innocence is fundamental to the justice system around the world. Ronaldo remains a free man, and for all we know, he should be. Collectively, these allegations did not meet the threshold for punishment by the legal system.
Let’s make things clear though. Victims very rarely fabricate allegations sexual violence. Statistics showed that around the time of Mayorga's accusation, and they still do today. That's if victims even choose to report it in the first place. It’s hard enough for an individual to stand up and say they’ve been a victim of sexual violence under normal circumstances. When the perpetrator of that violence is a celebrity and the case is sure to grab headlines all over the globe, the toll it takes is even worse. It takes bravery to make a choice either way.
That brings us to the recent news about Mason Greenwood. Greenwood has not played for United since he was arrested in January of 2022. He subsequently faced a police investigation but charges against him for attempted rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and controlling and coercive behaviour were discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service in early February.
Upon the discontinuation of the charges, the CPS told The Athletic:
“a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”.
While the criminal case may be over, Greenwood’s future as a footballer for United remains in the balance, with the club currently conducting its own investigation as they seek to build as full a picture as possible of the events that led to a complaint being made against him last year.
A month after launching the investigation, the option of reintroducing Greenwood to the club’s first-team squad as part of a possible phased return to football does remain firmly under consideration, but club sources insist no decision has yet been taken and it is one of several options, including a parting of the ways, that remains possible.
I, along with many others, could not care less about Mason’s rehabbing. He can apologise all he wants, but there will be no chance of forgiveness. He can put in the work, but that will never paint over the scars his actions have left.
I’m sure he’ll get a job elsewhere, as the reports of loan offers evidenced earlier this week, but I don’t want him at my club. Right now I’d rather journalists and the club listened to the opinions of the players that will have to share training ground with him, and the fans, especially those that identify as women (As they face incidents of sexual violence far more regularly than anyone else), that pay to watch their team week in, week out.
Within the dressing room of Manchester United Women, the feelings surrounding this case are reportedly very strong. Some players have been reported to be deeply uncomfortable with the idea of Greenwood returning to the club. They, along with many others, have heard the audio released on social media last January and it’s damning evidence to support the claims that had been levied against him. That is not something that can be easily erased from memory.
Their discomfort is shared by Natalie Burrell, a fan of Manchester United’s men and women’s teams, and founder of the Manchester United Women’s Supporters’ Club.
“I don’t think he should play again for Manchester United,” she told The Athletic.
“It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world. They need to make a statement and letting him back would be the worst thing they could do. It would set our club back in terms of what we’re trying to do with our women’s team and campaigns like Her Game Too, which are trying to encourage women to play and watch football. People just think they’re going to write it (his contract) off and maybe they will — that would be a real statement – but I’d be surprised. If they just sold him it’d be a good statement too. I just don’t want to see him training. I don’t want to see him in a (United) kit. I don’t want to see him ever coming out at Old Trafford again.”
We need to keep listening to these people. Manchester United need to make sure these decisions are not purely taken by their (fully male) backroom team. This is an opportunity to include everyone in your decision making process.
Football is entertainment. It’s an escape from the rigmarole of everyday life. It’s a chance for you to take time to get caught up in your emotions and not have to think about life’s complexities. It’s a time that you don’t want to have ruined by being morally conflicted.People don’t want to travel to games and come home feeling awful for cheering on people that have done horrific things. Our teams that we keep going by paying to watch them play should not be putting us in the position to have to choose whether we abandon our morals or not.
I constantly feel like I should be doing more here than I already am. I listen to those that need to be listened to. I amplify the brilliant words that they have to say. I donate what I can to charities (Like Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis UK and Refuge UK) and support those that have been victims. I speak up when I should and defend those that need it.
It all feels like it’s not enough.
As individuals, we can only do what we can. Our work can have a small effect at the ground level of all of this. Joined together we can have an even larger effect.
But a major franchise like Manchester United taking a stand could make a lasting change to how the world views and acts upon these issues for decades to come.
I hope my team come to the right decision.