Manchester United Women 'do not want Mason Greenwood to return'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 10 February 2023

Man United Women 'do not want Mason Greenwood to return'

Members of Manchester United Women's team are reportedly "deeply uncomfortable" with the idea of Mason Greenwood returning to the club.

Manchester United Women's team would reportedly feel "deeply uncomfortable" with the idea of Mason Greenwood returning to the club after charges against the 21-year-old were dropped.

The former England international was arrested in January of last year on suspicion of rape and assault following accusations made online by a woman, including images, videos and audio clips.

Greenwood was immediately suspended by Man United before being further arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and making threats to kill, and he was subsequently released on bail.

Back in October, it was reported that Greenwood had been re-arrested for breaching his bail conditions, and he was then charged with attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The 21-year-old was due to go on trial in November, but the case against the forward was discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service last month, leading to all charges being dropped.

Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood pictured in July 2021 © Reuters

Greenwood remains suspended by Man United, who are conducting their own internal review before deciding whether to welcome the Englishman back to Erik ten Hag's squad.

However, The Athletic reports that some members of the women's team would not be comfortable with Greenwood coming back to the club after listening to the audio footage released on social media.

The report claims that the players cannot "easily erase" the audio clip from memory, while female fans of Man United also do not want to see Greenwood play for the club again.

The Red Devils youth product had his sponsorship with Nike terminated after his initial arrest, while EA Sports also removed him from all versions of their FIFA 22 game.

A statement from CPS revealed that the withdrawal of "key witnesses" and "new material" coming to light meant that they were under duty to drop the charges, as there was no longer a realistic chance of Greenwood being convicted.

Manchester United's Mason Greenwood during the warm up before the match, December 8, 2021 © Reuters

"We have a duty to keep cases under continuous review. 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. In these circumstances, we are under a duty to stop the case," a spokesperson said.

"We have explained our decision to all parties. We would always encourage any potential victims to come forward and report to police and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met."

Greenwood scored 35 goals and provided 12 assists in 129 games for Man United prior to his suspension, and he has made one appearance for England against Iceland in the UEFA Nations League in September 2020.

Man United's men's team sit third in the Premier League table and are next in action against Leeds United on Sunday, while the women's team are second in the Women's Super League table ahead of a trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday lunchtime.