Rachel Riley, I will stop supporting Manchester United if Mason Greenwood returns

Rachel Riley, the co-presenter of Countdown, has said she will stop supporting Manchester United if the club allows Mason Greenwood to return.

Manchester United said on Wednesday no decision had been made about the 21-year-old’s future, which it said is still the “subject of intensive internal deliberation”.

Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 and in October of that year was charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Greenwood denied all the charges and they were dropped in February.

Riley was responding to comments from another female United fan, named Em, saying she would “walk away from my club” if Greenwood returned.

Rachel Riley told her 684,000 Twitter followers: ‘I really hope they [the club] do the right thing.’ Photograph: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

She told her 684,000 Twitter followers: “I’m with Em, I won’t be able to support United if Greenwood remains at the club. We’ve all seen and heard enough. Pretending this is OK would be a huge part of the problem.

“It would be devastating for my club to contribute to a culture that brushes this under the carpet … I really hope they do the right thing.”

Greenwood, 21, has not played for the first team since being arrested in January 2022. In February, the Crown Prosecution Service said it had dropped the charges against him because there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction” after key witnesses withdrew their cooperation from the investigation.

In a statement on Wednesday, Manchester United said the “fact-finding phase” of its investigation was complete, adding that a decision about Greenwood’s future, which “ultimately rests” with the chief executive officer, Richard Arnold, was in the final stages.

The club said it had gathered “extensive evidence and context not in the public domain” and spoke to “numerous people with direct involvement or knowledge of the case.

“Throughout this process, the welfare and perspective of the alleged victim has been central to the club’s inquiries, and we respect her right to lifelong anonymity,” the statement said.

“We also have responsibilities to Mason as an employee, as a young person who has been with the club since the age of seven, and as a new father with a partner.”

The club added: “Contrary to media speculation, that decision has not yet been made and is currently the subject of intensive internal deliberation. Once made, the decision will be communicated and explained to the club’s internal and external stakeholders.”

Prior to Monday’s 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton at Old Trafford in its Premier League opener, a group of Manchester United supporters protested against Greenwood’s potential return.