Gary Neville has criticised Manchester United for their handling of the Mason Greenwood situation after they finally made the decision to transition him out of the club.
After months of speculation and rumours that he might be reintegrated into the squad following a raft of serious allegations, Man United confirmed on Monday that Greenwood will not remain at the club and they will be assisting his potential return to football elsewhere.
This comes after the 21-year-old was arrested on allegations of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, as well as carrying out assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his girlfriend in January 2022 following audio and photographic evidence being leaked on social media.
The charges were ultimately dropped back in February but swathes of football fans have been vocal in their opposition to his return ever since, including a large group of female supporters organising a protest on United’s opening game of the season. As a result, Neville has summed up the club’s handling of the whole situation as “pretty horrible”.
The former United and England fullback told Sky Sports during their Monday Night Football show, “I think it was clear from day one, for me or anyone who obviously saw that evidence that was initially released, that he wouldn’t play for Manchester United again.
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“They have got there [in the end] but I would say that the process of getting there has been pretty horrible. When you have significant situations and difficult situations like this, it requires strong authoritative leadership — and that comes from the very top. Manchester United don’t have that.”
Sitting across from former WSL star Karen Carney, she added: “Personally I feel really uneasy with the situation. I think Manchester United, as an institution and a football club and what it stands for, have handled this really, really poorly.”
There have also been calls for CEO Richard Arnold to resign after it was reported he told the key figures that Greenwood would be returning before ultimately making a U-turn following the immense backlash.
As for Greenwood himself, the young footballer has finally broken his silence on the whole scandal, writing in a statement that he “fully accepts I made mistakes in my relationship, and I take my share of responsibility for the situations which led to the social media post.”
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However, the now exiled academy product still insisted he was “brought up to know that violence or abuse in any relationship is wrong” and “did not do the things [he was accused of”.
Nevertheless, he and the club have said that the decision to part ways is a mutual decision, with both agreeing that it is best for him to try and continue his career elsewhere so as not to be “a distraction for the club”.
Featured Image — Mason Greenwood (via Twitter)/Sky Sports
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
22nd August 2023 
