It is reassuring to know that Manchester United are taking seriously allegations of abuse made against Brazilian striker Antony. After the attempts to which United went to keep Mason Greenwood on the books at Old Trafford you wonder what that might be worth.
If the welfare of women is as important to United as they claim, what is preventing the club from taking the same action as the Brazilian national team, who released Antony from the squad to face Bolivia and Peru in World Cup qualifying?
The allegations made by a former partner are being investigated by police in Sao Paulo and Manchester. Gabriela Cavallin claims she was headbutted by Antony in a Manchester hotel room in January that left her needing medical treatment. Police are also investing claims she was punched in the chest, which required corrective surgery to restore damaged breast implants.
There was also the matter in May of a finger cut defending herself against a glass allegedly thrown by Antony. The claim was supported by social media posts with associated photographs and harrowing narrative detail.
The player denies the allegations, claiming in a statement there was never any “physical aggression”. He did, however, accept his relationship with Ms Cavallin was “tumultuous”. And he “remains at the disposal of the Brazilian police”.
Following the mishandling of the Greenwood affair, this latest development is as much about United as it is Antony. Of course the allegations may not lead to charges. Nevertheless a legal investigation is under way, which was enough to trigger the conscience of the Brazilian football federation and ought to be signal enough for United to respond accordingly.
The failure of United to consult with domestic abuse experts during their consideration of Greenwood’s future attracted understandable criticism. Footballers are not the only misogynists roaming the earth. But they are among a cohort with the kind of enhanced power that comes with fame and wealth. Mindful of the influence exerted by Premier League superstars, the clubs who enable them, and who connect intimately with the communities they represent, are compelled to behave appropriately.
United are not just a football team, they are a flagship institution that trades on reputation. The club is a huge part of Manchester’s identity. It is a relationship that defines it, from which it derives its meaning. United are a central feature of the lives of millions, a trusted edifice, one that fuels dreams and aspirations. This brings responsibility, at the heart of which is common decency and upholding standards.
Without this connecting tissue United are nothing. Chief executive Richard Arnold got it hopelessly wrong in his handling of Greenwood. Not because of the complexity of the issues but for the way he represented the process.
What was set out as a balanced review of the facts that ultimately led to the conclusion he must go, was on the contrary a process designed to keep him that unravelled only when the escalating criticism made it impossible to do so.
Why Getafe might be an appropriate landing strip for Greenwood is a question exercising many in Spain. Every hour of delay in reaching the same conclusion over Antony deepens the sense that United care more about the welfare of the team than they do about victims of abuse. Over and above the practical difficulties of accommodating a player with an investigation of this nature hanging over him, the club risks far more significant damage to its credibility and reputation.
United are a club that fields a team of women as well as men. We are, it seems, at a critical moment in the fight for female emancipation from the abusive power of men. United can be a positive part of the historic struggle, pushing for progress and change, or they man the misogynistic barricades alongside the likes of Luis Rubiales, the pariah of Spanish football, kicking and screaming for the right to treat women as they please.
Erik ten Hag is desperate for any kind of win following an indifferent start to the season, pock marked by injuries, the ongoing crisis of ownership, the public spat with Jadon Sancho and now the escalating Antony affair. There is way forward. Stand down Antony until the police tell us otherwise.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/J8KZFrC
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