About to be made official, Mason Greenwood’s transfer to Olympique de Marseille continues to make people grind their teeth. Accused of rape and assault by his partner in January 2022, the English striker, then at Manchester United, had seen his career largely slowed down. The Mancunian club had dismissed him before reinstating him after seeing the complaint against him withdrawn.
A step backwards that will neither have improved his image nor forgiven his actions that had been published on social networks by the one who is now the mother of his child. Asked, through the voice of its director, Sophie Pioro, Solidarité Femmes 13, also castigated the recruitment of the 22-year-old player, who was loaned to Spain, at Getafe, last season.
On July 4, your association sent a letter to Frank McCourt, owner of OM, to protest against the future recruitment of Mason Greenwood when the first rumors were published. What was its content?
SOPHIE PIORO. We wanted to express our shock that this could happen. We have a partnership with OM that we established a few years ago, and we have been able to do a lot of things with the club and its foundation. During the first lockdown, OM provided us with an emergency shelter to house women who were victims of domestic violence. They were quite committed to this issue. It really contradicts the fact of buying a player who is the perpetrator of domestic violence. Especially since the facts have been proven, even if there was no judgment after a complaint was withdrawn, evidence has circulated. It leaves us a little questioning. Marseille’s image is tarnished, it would be a shame for the city and the club to have this player in the team.
Fifteen days later, have you received a response from him?
To date, we have not had a response. Maybe they wanted to wait for the final validation of his arrival. We are listening, we want to have an exchange with them on this subject. It leaves us speechless.
“Supporters have reported this problem to us”
What is your view on the reaction of the supporters, some of whom are opposed to the arrival of Mason Greenwood?
We are very happy, because it was supporters who reported this problem to us. We are happy that this subject is controversial. If it had happened five or ten years ago, I don’t think it would have been a current topic. Today, it is a real subject shared by the general public. It is important that supporters can react. What we are waiting for now and what would be symbolically interesting would be to have a word from a player or a player from the women’s team who brings up this subject. We have not heard them speak yet.
How will this story affect your relationship with OM?
Today, we do not want to be associated with Olympique de Marseille. We can still continue or at least start the dialogue to see what we can do. I do not think that this will only impact our relationship. If the mayor of the city has clearly positioned himself, it risks having other impacts. We want to understand why this transfer is taking place and under what conditions.
There have been several cases of this kind in France in recent years. How do you explain this growing phenomenon?
This is a societal problem and not just around football. In the eyes of the players, the broadcasters, there is a very shared tolerance around the perpetrators of violence, who can continue without being worried much. Football players have a duty to set an example. OM’s position goes against women’s rights and the fight against domestic violence.
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