Former TV3 General Manager renounces support for Man United over Greenwood saga

Former General Manager of Media General and TV3, Francis Doku, has suspended his support for Manchester United after the club decided to dump Mason Greenwood.

According to him, the English club did not treat the young footballer fairly by cutting ties despite finding him not guilty.

In a statement addressed to the club, Doku said their decision was wicked and that he could not continue to support the club.

“I believe the decision is preposterous and very wicked towards the young man. It is obvious Manchester United wanted to reintegrate him into the team but succumbed to the dangerously rising cancel culture to deny Greenwood due diligence,” parts of his statement said.

“I cannot continue to support a club that thinks about its image and succumbs to such pressure to jeopardise the professional career and future of a young man who has been with the club since he was seven and regrets his action.”

On Monday, Manchester United announced that striker Greenwood would leave the club following the conclusion of its internal investigations.

The 21-year-old has been suspended since January 2022 when he was charged with rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, following allegations by his girlfriend.

The charges were eventually dropped earlier this year after a withdrawal of key witnesses, with the player even returning to individual training.

Last week, The Athletic reported that the club was planning on bringing back the young forward, which led to backlash from a section of the fans.

In a statement released on Monday, Manchester United said they have come to an agreement with Greenwood to mutually part ways, citing “the difficulties with him recommencing his career at Manchester United.”

Meanwhile, read Francis Doku’s statement on suspending his support for the club below:

I Francis Doku, a native of sudoku in the Greater Accra Region in Ghana, do hereby renounce my support for the English football club, Manchester United.

Regrettable as this decision may be, it was taken on the principle that the club acted cowardly in the Mason Greenwood rape allegation matter. The club noted that Greenwood was not guilty of what he was accused of yet went on to hang him out to dry.

In a letter issued to the supporters of the club on August 21, 2023, Chief Executive Richard Arnold noted, amongst other things, that the club started investigating the matter from February 2023 when all charges were dropped against Greenwood, after over one year of investigations and hearings in court, and that the evidence we did collate led us to conclude that Mason did not commit the acts he was charged with.

This notwithstanding, Mr. Arnold went on to state that the club had decided that Mason will seek to rebuild his career away from Manchester United. In order words, the club is letting him go despite the alleged victim asking the police to drop charges, the courts dropping all charges against him and the club's investigations (limited as Arnold claimed they were) finding him guiltless of the acts he was charged with.

I believe the decision is preposterous and very wicked towards the young man. It is obvious Manchester United wanted to reintegrate him into the team but succumbed to the dangerously rising cancel culture to deny Greenwood due diligence. I cannot continue to support a club that thinks about its image and succumbs to such pressure to jeopardise the professional career and future of a young man who has been with the club since he was seven and regrets his action.

I may be living far away in Africa and not privileged with the presence and circumstance of the issues in England where Manchester United is based, but I am a fan nonetheless and I have been since 1985 or so. Manchester United has grown to become a global club, and I am sure more supporters around the world, like me, would have wished the club would ignore the few noisy virtue signaling brigade in England to give the young man a second chance.

It is in view of this that I have decided to stay away from supporting my boyhood club. Maybe in the future, should I deem it that Manchester United has exorcised itself of this horrible decision, I may come back, but for now, it's au revoir!

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