The football media community in the UK have been much taken by the outcome to the long saga of (Ex)Manchester United footballer Mason Greenwood and his girlfriend this week ....
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| Mason Greenwood Was Accused Of Assault |
.... after this weeks announcement that he has conceded that his career at Manchester United is effectively over, mainly because of his conviction by social opinion/social media, after the actual legal case against him suddenly collapsed, leaving the crown with no chance of a conviction.
His 'alleged' offence (he has consistently denied any offence ... innocent until proven guilty in a court of law remember everyone?), was that he attempted to sexually assault and then beat his long standing girlfriend .... these charges were originally made by the girlfriend, via her social media platform (she posts video, photographs and audio recordings on Instagram as a wannabee 'influencer'), and subsequently he was arrested in January 2022, and a full police and prosecution investigation started.
In October 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it was charging Greenwood
with attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, and
assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
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| The Story Of Their Baby Had Both Their Names |
It looked like a slam dunk case with the media evidence until .... in February 2023, all the charges were suddenly dropped, after the Crown Prosecution Service said that key witnesses withdrew their involvement, and that new material had come to light. Subsequently it was then confirmed that Harriet Robson (the girlfriend presumably involved in the original complaints, as they have been a couple since school days, and its her picture that was published on Instagram with blood trickling from a face wound), and Mr Greenwood, had now apparently kissed and made up, and were now expecting a baby, with plans to marry.
Now this latest twist to the story (his leaving of Manchester United), has been much reported on by the UK broadcast media such as Talksport, but with a strangely coy refusal to mention the girlfriend by name, nor to criticise any of her actions subsequent to the allegations .... this is all rather strange, because her and Greenwood have been in the media frequently after the case collapsed, even as recently as the 14th of July 2023 when his and her names were published in The Sun Newspaper (along with many other media outlets) accompanied by clingy photographs after the birth of their first child .... so well in the public domain.
Now this all raises some questions that have not been answered:
- Why are the broadcast media not naming Ms Robson, when the print media are?
- Why was whomever was the 'key witnesses' who withdrew their involvement, not charged with wasting police time, and billed for the investigation costs? Why should the taxpayer have to foot the bill for this wasted investigation?
- Why is Ms Robson's claim to be an 'influencer,' but apparent acceptance back of her alleged abuser, not being criticised as being very typical of marital abuse victims, and a very public setback to campaigns against the UK's large issue of *domestic violence against women?
I don't expect we will ever get the answers to these questions ....
Meanwhile Mr Greenwood will no doubt eventually continue to ply his trade outside of the UK, with Saudi Arabia, Spain or Italy (Roma) initially being touted as possible locations, and given Ms Robson's 'occupations' as 'Model, Influencer (Instagram 700k+ followers), and Student', and her liking for bikini photo shots, I assume that a few years in Rome, Madrid or Milan Italy would better suit her 'career as a WAG' just fine ... Saudi Arabia, perhaps not so much. 😂
But wherever he goes, his England International career, and any possibility of playing for an English Premier League club appear, quite rightly, to be over (at least for a number of years).
Of course while the broadcast media in the UK have gone all woke, and hesitated to either name Ms Robson, or criticise the possible couples actions, the UK newspapers, foreign press and especially social media haven't hung back ....
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| Social Media Criticism Of Greenwood And Robson |
As someone once famously nearly said: “So Harriet, what first attracted you to the millionaire footballer Mason Greenwood?”
*If you are experiencing issues related to domestic violence contact the police or a helplines UK and USA links:
https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ : Tel (24 hr) 0808 2000 247
https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/ :
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help
https://www.thehotline.org/ : Tel 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) or TEXT "START" to 88788
https://ncadv.org/get-help
One thing strikes me about this sordid little tale, and that is that I bet that the girlfriend now regrets rushing to post on Instagram following the incident, because she has really screwed his career (which was probably the original aim), but now they are back together again with a child, that outcome impacts both her and their child as well, as his earning power will probably drop considerably when he leaves Manchester United.
ReplyDeleteIrony indeed.
Good point, well made.
DeleteI guess like a lot of generation Z she lives her life via social media, so instead of ringing her mum or best friend, she rushed to tell the world via her 'followers'. All the events that followed, stemmed from firstly his alleged acts, and secondly her very public social media response to those alleged actions.
They made the police and press/media response inevitable. When whomever were the 'key witnesses' who caused the criminal case to collapse, by withdrawing their involvement, it was way too late to reverse or undo the reputational damage done to him, and then to his career.
He and her will probably both be most remembered for this event, instead of any of their life achievements.
Thanks for the comment, always appreciated.
Greenwood joins La Liga side Getafe on season-long loan from Man Utd and as we have been seeing recently Spanish football apparently isn't too concerned about sexual violence against women.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem to be at the very least, to be a very tactless decision by Getafe, given the controversy currently raging in Spanish football about sexual aggression towards women. What sort of reception he gets from opposition fans, I hesitate to guess about. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteNo one seems to understand why these women repeatedly forgive the men who beat them, and go back time after time. Having a child just gives the man even more control.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that psychologists could give you some answer, but as going back to an abuser seems to negate common sense, self preservation and survival mode, then their theories are no better than your own. Thanks for the comment.
Delete