Tottenham Hotspur’s appointment of Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach last month has led to discussion and reporting in the UK of his comments about Mason Greenwood.
De Zerbi coached Greenwood at Marseille until the 46-year-old left the club in February. Greenwood, meanwhile, has not played for an English team since departing Manchester United, initially on loan, in September 2023.
Greenwood’s United exit came after a charge of attempted rape — among two other charges, all of which he denied — was discontinued by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service a few months earlier.
While at Marseille, De Zerbi spoke about Greenwood, who the French club signed in September 2024, a few months after appointing the Italian. “I feel sad for what happened in his life, without getting into the details,” De Zerbi said. “Because the person I know here is very different to the one that has been described, especially in England.”
De Zerbi’s backing of Greenwood prompted multiple Tottenham supporters’ groups to protest against his appointment before and after a deal was agreed.
In The Athletic’s reporting of this, we closed the comment sections. Here, we want to explain why.
What happened with Greenwood while he was at United?
On January 30, Greenwood was suspended by United. A day later, he was arrested on suspicion of rape and assault, and then further arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and making threats to kill.
Greenwood was charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. All three charges related to the same woman.
He had been due to stand trial in November 2023, but the charges were discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in early February 2023. Upon the discontinuation of the charges, the CPS said “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.” Greenwood denied all allegations against him.
As revealed by The Athletic, United initially planned to reintegrate Greenwood back into the first team after the charges were dropped, before protests by fans and staff saw them publicly commit to parting ways with the Englishman in August 2023. He joined Getafe on loan at the start of September, then completed a €31.6million (now $27.5m; $36.9m) permanent move from United to Marseille in the summer of 2024.
Why comments may be disabled on any article
We will always turn comments off on stories where reporting restrictions are in place, out of respect for the legal process in the UK and the individuals involved.
We will also turn comments off on stories that involve ongoing criminal proceedings, because commenters may inadvertently identify individuals who have a right to privacy or pass judgement on the guilt or innocence of an alleged perpetrator, potentially breaching the UK’s contempt laws.
The UK and the US have different laws relating to libel, privacy — including arrests — and contempt of court. Stories relating to the UK legal system must respect those laws.
In the UK, in cases relating to sexual offences, the alleged victim is entitled to anonymity for life, regardless of the outcome of any police investigation.
Why this relates to Greenwood’s case
Due to the sexual nature of the attempted rape charge against Greenwood, the alleged victim is entitled to anonymity. The only exception to that would be if she had waived their right to anonymity, which has not happened. She has not given her written consent and we have to respect that.
Therefore, despite the charges against Greenwood being discontinued, leaving comments open on articles relating to him runs the risk of a commenter trying to identify the woman, which would be an invasion of her privacy and right to lifelong anonymity.
Individuals or publications can face legal action over breaching an individual’s right to privacy and anonymity.