A group of Manchester United supporters are reportedly planning a protest before the club’s first home game of the season over the reintegrating Mason Greenwood into the first team.
According to The Athletic, the protestors – who are all regular match-goers and want to remain anonymous for the time being – are planning to express their feelings ahead of Monday’s game against Wolves at Old Trafford.
Greenwood, 21, was arrested in January 2022 and suspended on full pay by United a short time later after charges of alleged rape and assault were made against him.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February of this year that the charges had been dropped after ‘key witnesses’ withdrew their involvement.
After the news was made public, United released a short statement that explained how they would conduct an internal investigation to decide his future.
The report states a banner has been prepared by the protestors in United colours with a message that reads: ‘Female Fans Demand No Greenwood Return – End Violence Against Women.’
One of the organisers explained the reason for the protest to The Athletic as they said: ‘It’s time for the club to stand up and make the right decision.
‘It’s time to say, “We have high standards at United about how we expect players to conduct themselves and, if you do not meet those standards, you need to be moved out.”
‘This is a tipping point for the club. Are they going to side with commercialism and trophies and money? Or are they going to take the side of match-going fans and the club being a social and community institution that we can be proud of, and proud to have as part of our identity?’
The protestors are planning to come together at the Holy Trinity statue outside Old Trafford ahead of Monday’s game and they are hoping to be joined by several individuals who are already taking part in another protest against the unpopular Glazer family’s ownership of the club, which is being organized by the 1958 pressure group.
They also set up a Twitter account and released a statement that outlined their opposition to Greenwood ever playing for the club again.
The statement read: ‘Today, we female fans of Manchester United are demanding that the club abide by their duty of care towards their female fans and employees and demonstrate a zero tolerance approach towards acts of violence against women by refusing to bring Mason Greenwood back into the squad.
‘The situation is clear – taking Greenwood back legitimizes and normalizes sexual assault and domestic abuse. It tells other players, and the men and boys that look up to them, that abusing women is acceptable, without consequence, and won’t affect you or derail your career.
‘It also tells us, as women, that we don’t matter. It tells female MUFC employees that their employer is happy to make them work alongside an abuser, and tells hundreds of thousands of female fans that supporting the team we love involves supporting men who abuse women like us.
‘It tells us that our safety doesn’t matter, our experiences don’t matter; that the 1 in 4 women who experience domestic abuse and/or sexual assault in the UK don’t matter. It tells us that men who make the club money matter; not us, our fellow fans, mothers, sisters or daughters.
