“There is a duty to set an example”… The recruitment of Mason Greenwood to OM causes tension in Marseille

Accused of domestic violence and attempted rape before the charges were dropped in 2023, the English striker was made official by the Marseille club on Thursday.

“I don’t want my club to be covered in shame by someone who beats his wife. To slaughter his wife in this way is unworthy of a man and I think he has no place in this team.” Despite criticism from the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, even before it was made official on July 9, the recruitment of Mason Greenwood to OM was announced by the club on Thursday, July 18.

The new Olympian number 10 is still dragging his past. In January 2022, the 22-year-old English striker was accused of domestic violence and attempted rape by his partner, Harriet Robson, with photos and voice messages to support his claim. His club at the time, Manchester United, then decided to suspend him, while Nike terminated its contract with him. While the charges were dropped in February 2023 following the “withdrawal of key witnesses”, The Mancunians had decided to definitively discard the player.

If this transfer to Marseille numerically compensates for the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Al-Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia, it is causing tension on the Canebière. Despite the presence of some 200 supporters on Wednesday evening at Marignane airport to welcome the player who relaunched in Spain with Getafe last season, during a loan, his arrival logically caused a reaction. Some Marseille fans have been using #GreenwoodNotWelcome on social media for a week.

Three Marseille associations fighting against domestic and sexual violence renewed a joint statement on Thursday, after a first one dated July 10, to firmly oppose the player’s arrival. “Although he has not been convicted by the courts, the transfer of Mason Greenwood is unacceptable. We oppose him becoming a public and acclaimed figure in our city. There is a duty to set an example.”proclaimed the Family Planning 13, Solidarité Femmes 13 and the local Women’s and Family Rights Information Center in an Instagram post.

“Opposing the purchase of this player would have been a strong symbol for all women, especially those who have suffered or are suffering sexist and sexual violence,” they added, recalling that OM had made its training center available to the Solidarités Femmes 13 association to accommodate around a hundred women victims of domestic violence during the 2020 lockdown.

“I am aware of all this, of course, but I do not want to enter into any controversy. Today all this is now behind us. My partner and I have rebuilt ourselves as a couple. We are looking ahead and we are impatient to be able to begin this adventure in Marseille.”explained Mason Greenwood in an interview given to The Team and to Provence.

Since the affair, the player and his partner have had a daughter together. This Thursday, the England international also confided that the new Marseille coach, Roberto De Zerbi, had had “a very important influence” in his signing with the club. It remains to be seen what reception the Vélodrome crowd will give him in the coming weeks.