The charity Women’s Aid has welcomed the news Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood will no longer play for the club.
United announced on Monday that an agreement had been reached for the 21-year-old England international to continue his career away from Old Trafford.
Greenwood has been suspended by the Premier League club since January 2022 over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online.
We know that the news from @ManUtd this afternoon, that Mason Greenwood will be moving on from the club, will be a relief to many survivors of abuse. This case has brought back painful memories for many people, with audio & photos of alleged abuse online. https://t.co/c2qarMtdCi
— Women's Aid (@womensaid) August 21, 2023
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He was facing charges including attempted rape and assault until the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February this year the case had been discontinued, which led to United conducting their own investigation.
A spokeswoman for Women’s Aid, which works to end domestic abuse against women and children, said: “We know that today’s news from Manchester United that Greenwood will be moving on from the club will be a relief for many survivors of domestic and sexual abuse.
“Football is loved by so many people worldwide, and players are often idolised by fans, so the way that alleged domestic abuse cases are treated in clubs has a huge impact on public understanding about what is accepted and tolerated in society.
“We have heard first-hand the impact this case and the related materials shared on social media have had on survivors of abuse, and while next steps are established following the outcome of Manchester United’s internal investigation, this will happen away from centre stage of Old Trafford.
“With many survivors never contacting the police to report abuse in the first place, and the majority of domestic and sexual abuse cases not resulting in a criminal conviction, it is vital that clubs – like all employers – have an approach that is wider than the criminal justice system, and which deals with the reality of the scale of the issue.
“This needs to involve addressing the attitudes that underpin domestic and sexual abuse, and working with players from a young age to make it clear that clubs stand against sexism and misogyny. This is an issue that reaches far wider than football, with misogynistic content widely available on social media, so it is important to recognise how widespread harmful attitudes are and address this.”
The Manchester United Supporters Trust criticised the club’s handling of the case but said the right decision had been made.
A MUST statement read: “Since the deeply distressing initial allegations surfaced, this episode has been allowed to drag out for far too long as the club has carried out an investigative process.
“Moreover, the complete lack of consultation with fans even with respect to process added fuel to the fire. Whilst the speculation and discussion in the last couple of weeks has been profoundly unhelpful and reflected very poorly on the club, it is clear that they have in the end reached the right decision.
“We are relieved that this matter can now be put behind us and will be working with the club to ensure lessons have been learned from this very troubling episode.”
