The organisation Women’s Aid has expressed its approval regarding the decision that Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood will not continue with the team.
On Monday, the club declared that they had come to an understanding with the 21-year-old England player to advance his career away from Old Trafford.
Since January 2022, Greenwood had been under suspension from the Premier League side, following allegations connected to a young woman, with evidence emerging online in the form of images and videos.
Charges were levelled against him, including attempted rape and assault. However, the Crown Prosecution Service clarified in February of the same year that they were discontinuing the case. This prompted Manchester United to initiate their own internal review.
A representative from Women’s Aid, an entity dedicated to combatting domestic abuse towards women and children, commented:
“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.”
