La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas, says Mason Greenwood’s past does not concern him and that he would like to see the on-loan Getafe forward prolong his career in Spain.
Greenwood joined the club on loan from Manchester United last September, seven months after the Crown Prosecution Service announced that criminal proceedings against him over an alleged attempted rape had been dropped. He had previously been suspended by United and would have been due to stand trial last November. Since returning to the pitch he has been well received at his temporary club, scoring five goals in Spain’s top flight, and Tebas is keen for him remain there for the long term.
“I’m a lawyer,” he said, speaking at the Financial Times business of football summit. “For someone that has come out of a legal case innocent, there’s nothing to say. I think it’s good because he’s another great player. Maybe the circumstances have made it easier for him to come, but he’s a great player and I have got no other comments to make.
“He’s doing really well at Getafe as a player and I hope he continues to be successful and continues to stay in Spanish football, because that’s always good for us. When someone isn’t condemned, what should we have done? This is what courts exist for. It is not up to me to know his case in detail. He is just another player.”
Asked about an investigation being conducted into Jude Bellingham after the Real Madrid player was alleged to have called Greenwood a “rapist” during a match on 1 February, Tebas said: “La Liga investigated Bellingham and let’s see what happens. It is not the first time we have done a lip-reading investigation and maybe he didn’t say what we think.”
Tebas’s answers betrayed a misapprehension that Greenwood had been acquitted by a jury. He was cleared of the charges after the CPS dropped them, saying “a combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”.
When that clarification was made, Tebas responded: “Greenwood was not condemned, so I don’t care.”
