Manchester United CEO’s Open Letter to Fans

Manchester United Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Richard Arnold on Monday, August 21, wrote an open letter to the club’s supporters detailing investigations into Mason Greenwood’s case and the club’s decision.

Here is the letter;

Now that we have concluded and announced the outcome of the club’s investigation into Mason Greenwood, I want to be direct and transparent with our fans about the process and the reasons for our decision.

This was an internal disciplinary investigation between employer and employee which would ordinarily take place outside of the public eye. Given the public nature of the allegations and Mason’s profile, I acknowledge that this was not an ordinary situation, but I felt it important that we still follow due process and, so far as possible, avoid media comment until I had made a definitive decision.

When audio footage and imagery was posted online in January 2022, my feelings were of shock and concern for the alleged victim. Her welfare, wishes and perspective have been central to the club’s approach ever since, as have the club’s standards and values.

While we immediately concluded that Mason should be suspended pending investigation, we were also conscious of our duty of care towards him and the importance of making a decision based on full information.

Until February this year, this was a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. It was only when charges were dropped that the club discussed the allegations with Mason and others involved in the case.

Our investigation sought to collate as much evidence as possible to establish facts and context. This was not a quick or straightforward process for a variety of reasons. It was essential for us to respect the rights and wishes of the alleged victim. Also, we have limited powers of investigation which meant we were reliant on third party cooperation. Timings have also been influenced by my desire to minimise the impact of the investigation on our men’s and women’s teams, as well as our Lionesses. I acknowledge that this gave more time for speculation, but the alternative would have been to compromise due process or create untimely disruption.

While we were unable to access certain evidence for reasons we respect, the evidence we did collate led us to conclude that Mason did not commit the acts he was charged with. I am restricted as to what I can say for legal reasons, including the alleged victim’s ongoing right to anonymity, but I am able to share the following with you which should give you some insight into the complexity of this case:

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– The alleged victim requested the police to drop their investigation in April 2022.
– We were provided with alternative explanations for the audio recording, which was a short excerpt from a much longer recording, and for the images posted online.
– The alleged victim’s family participated in the process and were given the opportunity to review and correct our factual findings.