Sport

Ex-United star Mason Greenwood subject to chants telling him to ‘die’ on debut for Getafe

It won't be the last time he faces abuse this season.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 18th September 2023

Ex-Manchester United star Mason Greenwood was subject to chants telling him to “die” whilst making his debut for new club Getafe this weekend.

The former Man United winger, who left Old Trafford during the most recent transfer window after the club confirmed he would not be returning to the fold following his sexual assault allegations, made his first appearance for the La Liga side on Sunday.

Despite being rather controversially welcomed by the club at the start of the month, signing autographs and posing with young children upon his arrival in Spain, he received a much colder reception from the travelling fans in attendance for the home side’s 3-2 win.

Getafe came up against Osasuna in their fifth match of the 2023/24 season and the away support made their feelings on his arrival in the league pretty clear:

Although it may be hard to make out from this clip alone, the fans in question were reported as chanting, “Greenwood, muerete!”, which roughly translates to ‘Greenwood, die/drop dead!’ during numerous periods throughout the game.

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Those found to have been involved are now set to be punished for the verbal abuse, according to The Athletic, and Osasuna’s own manager came out to condemn the behaviour, with Jagoba Arrasate telling reporters after the game that “the chants against Greenwood were very bad”.

As for Getafe’s manager, José Bordalás, he told Spanish media: “Today was a difficult game that was very back and forth… We are still working with him, as he has gone many months without playing. We will take this calmly. I imagine today will have been special for him and he will have the satisfaction of feeling like a footballer again.”

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Bordalás was also forced into clearing up a false claim that Jude Bellingham played a part in Greenwood choosing Getafe, apologising for the ‘confusion’ and admitting that the club has now “clarified to [him] that it was not the case.”

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Greenwood saw all the charges levelled against him — attempted rape, assault, as well as controlling and coercive behaviour — dropped earlier this year but United faced heavy criticism for taking so long to make a decision on his future and/or remove him from the squad entirely.

Nike also had to issue a statement confirming that Greenwood is “no longer a Nike athlete” after he chose to wear a pair of their boots during the game.

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The 21-year-old is still technically only on loan at Getafe but United have already made clear he will not wear the famous red shirt again; it remains to be seen whether his transfer will be made permanent or will eventually move on to another club.

Meanwhile, back in Manchester, the Red Devils still aren’t out of the woods when it comes to controversy as yet another winger has found himself out of the squad as 23-year-old Brazilian, Antony, is spending time away from the club until further notice as his domestic abuse case continues.

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Featured Image — Mason Greenwood (via Instagram)