Occasionally we pick a topic that regards the larger football community ……
However, they handled the situation, no matter.
In the wording of their statement, Manchester United reached the right conclusion, Mason Greenwood will never play for them again.
It’s a decision I would have wanted Arsenal to make in that situation.
Despite charges (including rape) being dropped in February, videos released before are impossible to ignore. Without an explanation, it makes it hard for the 21-year-old to ply his trade in England, impossible at Man United.
Football is the UK National sport, Man United one of the faces of the game, a brand that makes millions around the world.
In that sense the youngster is unlucky, he couldn’t have been employed by a more high-profile club in terms of trying to rebuild a career.
The FA are not an association either who ignore negative PR when submitting squads.
It would be a sad reflection of our country if little kids were wearing shirts with a name and number of an individual who since 2022 hasn’t been able to give a version of events that changes public opinion.
Make zero mistake, his employers have been desperate for an explanation.
A reason to look at images with a different perspective.
Reasoning why they can dismiss the audio we have all heard.
Officially, the club have been holding an internal investigation since Feb, wanting to wait for any legal proceedings to be finalised.
Off record though they have had nearly two years to paint a picture of the events that led to one of their own facing court action.
Let’s be honest, it doesn’t take years, months or days to explain what’s been leaked on YouTube.
It’s a conversation that takes minutes.
The questions are simple.
Why is your girlfriend pictured bloody and bruised?
Why are you heard refusing the need of consent?
Why are you ignoring the words ‘no’ and ‘stop’.
Based on talent, potential, and that you been at the club since a child, United were desperate for a testimony where they could defend you.
Was it foreplay?
A couple acting out a scenario?
That wouldn’t make you a perfect role model, but if it proves an innocent man is having his life ruined based on false accusations then he would be accepted back.
Remember he’s been on United’s books since the age of 6.
That’s 15 years of growing up with staff.
From a human level, if there was a pathway to safeguard ‘one of their own’, United would try and protect him. Any employer with a moral compass would.
That they haven’t simply means they can’t.
Which contradicts their stance ….
They claim they have information (including from witnesses) that wasn’t apparent when the original complaint was made.
It’s enough for both club and Greenwood to maintain that it proves he’s not guilty of what he was charged for.
That intel must be strong for a company to make such a claim (imagine the victim), yet they are not strong enough in their convictions to stand by someone that they stress didn’t do what he was suspended for.
It’s easy to read through United’s statement and see their motivation.
What it will cost to rip up any contract is small change compared to the revenue they would lose from sponsors and advertisers.
All parties had to compromise on an exit strategy which didn’t call anyone ‘Guilty’.
United ‘s lawyers would have wanted to avoid any accusations of slander hence the need to stress charges were dropped.
Some feel United’s wording has lacked sensitivity but I’m not sure what some were expecting out of a situation where there’s only so much control they have. They are not the judge or executioner.
They have legislation to follow, which includes him being treated like the rest the dressing room.
He can’t just be released based on cancel culture.
Equally they can’t pretend that post doesn’t exist, that fans will forget about it. Not without an explanation.
However, they want to wrap things up, their image and integrity will be better for Greenwood not being associated.
English football is stronger for characters like him forced to move abroad.
The latest talk is that Saudia Arabia won’t welcome him due to negative PR. Given their human rights record and treatment of women, you know your personality is in question when even that country won’t invest in you.
Football is a beautiful game but just that … a game.
Some things in life are bigger.
No matter how many goals he scores, his actions make them irrelevant.
He and United make it sound that it will be impossible for him to play at Old Trafford, and he doesn’t want to be a distraction to the badge he loves.
His employers want to help facilitate that transition.
In reality there was a way he could have played for Man United and England again. This truth, which would absolve him of any blame.
That we haven’t had that, tells you everything.
Maybe no explanation exists?
Dan
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Yes. Despite the drop of all charges, I think he still has the problematic boy image which isn’t good for any huge EPL club
The careers of Benjamin Mendy and Gylfi Sigurdsson were also ruined by legal cases, despite not found guilty
I would want mason greenwood at arsenal in a heartbeat!! I think arteta should try to sign him
There is no hope for you or your ilk!
Nothing to say about Thomas Partay No?
Course not.
Show me a video of Partey on the scale of greenwoods ?
Man utd have said he is not guilty of what he was charged. They also said the clips circulated on social media was part s of larger clips which they have watched and listened to. He has reconciled withe alleged victim and they have a child together. Mason also accepted he made a mistake. Man utd was pressured into making that decision. Some female man utd supporters also threatened to stop supporting them. Man utd chose to protect the brand whether he is Innocent or not. Good luck to Mason.
So if all that’s true why can’t he play for them ?
He can’t play for them but they are not terminating his contract. From what I heard he received his full salary even when he wasn’t playing. The manager was also making plans to reintegrate him. To answer your question, he isn’t playing because of the power of the mob and social media. Nobody care about the truth and second chances anymore.
You really are crazy!
TRUTH!
Did you see the video and listen to the soundtrack? Why is that not acceptable proof?
Why is it not enough evidence for the police to prosecute and convict?. Do you think the police will drop the case just because some witness recanted or withdrew?.
Yes.
“In this case, 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,” the CPS said in a statement. “In these circumstances, we are under a duty to stop the case.”
Withdrawal of key witnesses. Case dismissed
Totally agree with you, his partner doesn’t want to give up all the money and trappings that will come with him, or you could say victim mentality where she is simply too weak to leave him. The question is why did she record him in the first place?. He has the money to hire the best in defence
Just playing devil’s advocate here, but you even quoted “withdrawal of key witnesses AND NEW MATERIAL THAT CAME TO LIGHT”. So no, it wasn’t just the withdrawal of the witness.
You are delving into a difficult area. The case has been dropped and MU who likely have more information than is in the public domain have indicated that they do not believe that he is guilty of the charges brought against him.
Evidently, there is more to the story.
It is overly simplistic to suggest that everyone should just accept his guilt based on what limited information they have seen or heard.
As it stands he has been tried by social media not by a court.
Why can’t he play them if truth was on his side?
I want to be very clear that I’m not defending Greenwood, but it’s a little naive to think that the truth is the only thing that matters. The optics of a situation, or what people believe (or want to believe) is generally more important.
Innocent until found guilty in a court of law, hence is is rightfully allowed in society.
His image is tarnished that is why United don’t want him, but none the the less he is currently innocent until proven otherwise.
There is little doubt that the “optics”, general media and social media are driving the decisions and much of the narrative.
There is a lot of virtue signalling going on.
People don’t want him to play for their club. So a couple of questions:
what would be acceptable for him to do now? Or should he now be completely ostracised from society?
Whether Arsenal would sign this player is one thing (and they should not touch him with a bargepole). One very important consideration is not the view of male supporters were he to be signed, but that of the thousands of devoted women both supporters and players who would find his presence at the club repugnant, a disgrace even.
No amount of talent can hide the players’ back ‘story’ because he was found ‘not guilty’ not ‘innocent’.
He was NOT found “not guilty” or any other verdict. The charges were dropped by the CPS because the complainant, for some reason, withdrew her cooperation.
So did the witnesses in the same room one of whom videoed the incident. What the hell were they doing there too? Suddenly all witnesses run away and how much has Greenwood been paid for being on leave? I think there’s a clue there!
In the real world no is no but unfortunately the top end of the football industry is very Insulated when it comes to Mr a d Mrs Joe public.
The players are surrounded by a false bubble to every day life and people
Manure mis took the consensus of people’s feeling on this subject. Issued a statement that was farcical and took people as fools when sending it out.
Without the backing of the club and lawyers who would cost thousand per hour he would have a criminal record
He still managed to pick up over 5m in paid wages. What employer would do that in the real world
It makes a mockery of the whole system when normal law abiding people go about there business
It makes a mockery of justice for women when NO IS NO and he breaks that boundary and walks away scot free
Sorry for the rant but made me angry 😠
On the other side. He is where he is now and he has to live with what he has done but I hope this makes him a better human being
Alanball08, “Without the backing of the club and lawyers…”
Are you suggesting that Man U and/or their lawyers persuaded “the victim” to withdraw cooperation (to get the CPS to abandon the case) to prevent Greenwood from having a criminal record?
Jax
that’s very cynical of you to imply that
i am not implying that but it always helps if you have a substantial professional team of people behind you making decisions for you.
in the eyes of Man u i believe he is looked upon as a valuable commodity. the statement read out from MUFC about MG was tainted with how do we save face on how we have handled this and hopefully come out of it with some money
Sorry alanball, no offense intended, but that’s how it looked to me.
None taken sir
Always happy to read your comments
👍 Likewise
What you written is largely based on your personal views and beliefs and bears little relation to the ‘real world’.
A case has not been made against Mr Greenwood and it is doubtful that you have the full facts of the case. So it is ridiculous for you to be suggesting that he would have a criminal record but for such and such. It is also potentially libellous.
Yes, this stinks to high heaven, and I wouldn’t want Greenwood at the club, but let’s not get too self-righteous over it, as Arsenal may have to face this issue themselves any time now.
Jax
It’s not being about righteous
It’s not about Manure or AFC or any other club
It’s about what right and wrong
I believe we have an issue with one of our current players so that will be interesting to see how we will handle it
And I trust Arsenal to do the right thing if it all goes wrong for the player involved, and I’m sure Dan will be just as indignant.
100 percent mate
Mason is just a typical UK kid in their typical toxic relationships, he and his WAG had since reconciled and they’ve withdrawn all charges which goes to show it’s a norm among young couples these days.i find it really disgusting though given what transpired between the pair, mason as the man should’ve thought with his head rather than his d:”k at that moment by seeking to please his horny self elswhere than violenty forcing his girlfriend afterall he can afford to get laid by top notch (according to them) h%@s and they are not legally married yet so the commitment is not there yet.on the other hand the lady could’ve just gave him a reason (if she is on or maybe sick) rather than setting him an offside trap which has lead to all these if he truly loves him as evident in their rather bizzare reconcillation and well, as we all know they eventually hit each other and have had a baby as a result.This love story of theirs is the embodiment of thei usual TOXIC RELATIONSHIP and i have no sympathy for either of them.
I saw a post by @ allanball replying my post just now which I’ve replied now I can’t find either.
Vamos
i appreciate you replying to my comment which has gone and hopefully it might reappear,
hopefully i didn’t say any thing to offend you.
i can only assume you were agreeing with me or constructively putting something together to disagree with me.
Actually we are in agreement on the fact that he had no right to do what he did and like I said above he should’ve seek alternative to satisfying his horny self.I disagree on toxic relationship cases though as reported cases affirmed my points.
Vamos
Your opening sentence is far from the truth. If that’s your opinion then you need to check before posting.
He is not a typical UK kid. A typical UK kid or most in the world do not act in this manner
As for her being a wag or not. It does not give him the right to violate another person when it was clearly said no.
Greenwood’s d**k does seem to get him into some awkward situations, doesn’t it? Previously there was that escapade with Foden & the models in Iceland.
If I remember Southgate sent them home and dropped them
Put that one down to over excited male hormones 😎
I do believe a certain judas named Robin van Persie was accused of rape, but no charges were forthcoming.
The Arsenal supported him through the fortnight that this happened and stuck by him afterwards…. what a pity the player didn’t show the same loyalty.
I always thought one was innocent until proven guilty and if there wasn’t enough eveidence to actually proceed with the case, then United should have taken that as evidence in itself.
As I haven’t seen the video (nor do I wish to) I can’t comment on its content, but it seems that the two parties involved have now settled their differences and are a couple with a child.
Why not just get on with everything “Arsenal” and not become judge and jury over a situation where we haven’t got the full story anyway?
Man Utd declare that after a 6 month inquiry the evidence they unearthed proves that Greenwood was innocent of all charges. So forget what we all saw and heard, it didn’t happen – probably AI at work? Greenwood claims that he has been proven not guilty of all charges because they have been dropped by the CPS because key witnesses withdrew their cooperation. Talk about arrogance!!!
Man U look as though they are protecting their asset and are probably looking at ways to do that. But if they are convinced that he is completely innocent of all charges why don’t they publish this new evidence and reinstate Greenwood into the team? They are giving the impression that the alleged abuser is now the victim.
This is nothing new, there are countless similar cases in most of our institutions, the armed forces, police and the place where they make our laws, the house of commons. Money, power or both in the hands of, in the main, the male species tends to give that ‘I can do what I like’ attitude which they usually get away with. There are times I am ashamed of my own gender. Greenwood to Arsenal? No!!
Meant to say, good article Dan!!
There is a genuine problem of violence against women in English football.
The problem goes beyond footballers, but does exist within football fraternity.
There is evidence suggesting that professional footballer players in prestigious roles as a striker are over represented in incidents of violence committed against women (ie domestic violence, sexual assault) as compared to players at other positions.
In my opinion some of it is born out of positional status prestige, narcissism a real misguided sense of entitlement.
No discussions here. Life need consequences, pain and suffering, especially for young men to grow. I know good boys who grew up poor, took care of their family and did great in life. Not to mention 100 years ago, young boys and men sacrificed their lives in WW1 and WW2. I don’t care about footballers’ personal life.
I see a bigger problem here. There is a reason life works in a certain way. Usually, financial security and maturity happen hand in hand with most of us. When we have a good financial state, we are typically more mature and well adjusted as well. Both go hand in hand.
With football, and any other sports, players reach financial wellbeing before they are even adults and mature enough to tread the trajectory of life. That’s a dangerous combination. And mishaps like this happen. That’s the dark side of the celebrity life. Some manage to get through, some don’t. And such events will always happen. The money these players receive is absurd. So is the public exposure they receive. But the only skill they have in life is playing football. They are naive in every other aspect of life. What can you expect? I am more surprised by how such incidents are a rarity still.
That’s why I personally don’t like how such youngsters at the age of 20s spend most of their time playing football. There should be a limit imo, until they reach a certain age. And mostly I am surprised how these youngsters are also married and with kids, when they are not even mature adults yet. It’s a crazy world no doubt.
@Daulat, your last paragraph depends on family background,parental and societal upbringing and individual conscience, taking few examples from our squad like Rice,Havertz and Zinchenko who are in their 20’s and married with kids have never been associated with any form of public drama which proves the point you are trying to make is rather pointless.
I wasn’t going to comment at all but felt that I should do so
In simple terms there are some young women who throw themselves at top professional football players in the hope of the fame and fortune that this attachment brings. Glamorous lives and untold wealth. Kiss and tell stories They will put up with infidelity and a possible slap here and there to maintain a dream
I’m a woman in my mid 60’s and have spent my life living with low level misogyny that could easily be classed as banter. I still remember the mother in law jokes, knowing that at least these days, they are consigned to the tv archives.
I had a foul mouthed rant aimed at me on JA suggesting I was a bored housewife and worse. I got a lot of support from JA posters who found his musings about me to be as repugnant as I did. But these attitudes still exist and the older I get, the more dismayed and disgusted I get that in so many aspects of life women are treated like second class citizens. My heart bleeds for women and girls around the world who are subjected to lack of education and equal rights because of their gender.
It doesn’t surprise me that domestic abuse still continues if the likes of Andrew Tate enjoy the freedom to subjugate women and post their dreadful beliefs on line. In many cases abuse can be learned through witnessing it at home growing up.
It still doesn’t make it right.
I’m not interested in Greenwood per se as he is just one man who thinks he is better and can behave as he wants. As mentioned before, we are hearing more and more about rape and coercive sexual behaviour towards women in the police force and in other work places.
If you are reading this and happen to be the father of daughters would you really find this behaviour acceptable towards them?
Realtalk bro, my personal beef in this issue is their very awkward re-union after the disturbance of the society, talk of a mit&# in love with a bit£#, toxicity everywhere!!!
Reply to andrew elder.
Brilliant post Sue P. I agree 100% with everything you have so eloquently put but it also brings a sadness that in this day and age nothing much has changed. Misogyny hasn’t lessened over the years it has just been brushed under the carpet, it is rife in every single institution in the world and the small percentage of woman who have had the courage to protest against sexual assault usually end up frustrated, embarrassed and disappointed. The conviction rate for sex offences against women, I believe, is under 3%. Absolutely appalling!!
I am the father of a daughter who is in her mid-forties and a partner in a very successful firm. As the only woman of seven partners I know how hard she had to strive to achieve that status. If the male founder and senior partner had not retired I believe she would have moved on. She was one of the founder members when the the firm was established and the last one to be made a partner. Coincidence?
I am convinced that there will be an eventual change of attitude but it will be a slow and painful process for your gender. Alas, I certainly won’t be around to see it.
I disagree.
Misogyny, of course, exists. However, using high profile cases or the likes of Andrew Tate to make generalisations is increasingly prevalent and problematic. There are millions of men who conduct themselves appropriately with women at many workplaces so I don’t agree with you describing this issue as “rife” in all institutions. Unfortunately, you and many others are aligning with an unhelpful and unhealthy narrative which is paradoxically leading to the prominence of characters such as Mr Tate.
Have you actually investigated why so many many accusations and allegations never progress? If you have it would be useful to understand better why you consider the figures you quote “appalling” and perhaps what solutions you would suggest.
David, you of course are entitled to your opinion and for the record I did not mention Andrew Tate.
A recent 300 page independent report by Baroness Casey on the Met Police found that this institution is, I quote, “institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic and that female officers and staff ROUTINELY face sexism and misogyny”. I used the word rife which is defined “as of a common occurrence”. I happen to believe that these findings are appalling – my opinion. I do not have the means to do my own investigations I prefer to leave that to people with the right experience.