COLUMN: We need to talk about Mason Greenwood – La Liga's elephant in the room, Mestalla and a culture problem

03/05/2024 11:47 AM

Mason Greenwood scored a goal this weekend. That in itself isn't surprising – the English winger, on loan from Manchester United, has had a superb season at Getafe and is capitalising on the promise he displayed as a teenager at Old Trafford. 

Greenwood sprinted behind the Las Palmas defense on Saturday, rounded goalkeeper Alvaro Valles, and deposited his right-footed shot into the net on 14 minutes. That was the second in a six-goal thriller at the Coliseum, a 3-3 draw between two sides headed for midtable stability. Greenwood is now up to six goals and five assists across 23 appearances in La Liga, and he has routinely been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid – clubs to which the 22-year-old could realistically move in the summer. Atletico have reportedly even made contact with his representation already.

Yet there remains no divorcing Greenwood's presence at Getafe (of all clubs) from the events that led him there in the first place, amid allegations so disturbing that Man United realised there was no way he could stay after he missed the entire 2022/23 season. La Liga's open embrace of Greenwood has saved the player's career, and – in addition to events that took place at Mestalla on Saturday night – produced more questions about the culture those who run the Spanish top flight are espousing on and off the pitch.

Last month, Getafe manager Jose Bordalas described Greenwood as a "great guy" who has displayed "exemplary behaviour" throughout his short time in Madrid. Those comments came in light of accusations that Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham called Greenwood a "rapist" during Madrid's 2-0 win at the Coliseum on the first of February. The reason? Greenwood in 2022 stood accused of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, and assault resulting in bodily harm, a story that made global headlines.

It has been more than a year since the Crown Prosecution Service dropped these charges against Greenwood, but the legal controversy remains prevalent – it's the first thing that comes to mind for many fans just when they hear this player's name. Not for Javier Tebas, though. At a conference in London last week, La Liga's outspoken president was asked about Greenwood's future and expressed his firm desire to keep the winger in Spain.

"Greenwood was not condemned, so I don't care," Tebas said. "He's a great player and is doing well at Getafe. I hope he continues to be successful and stays in Spanish football because that's always good for us."

Let's contrast this glowing praise of Greenwood with Tebas' previous rhetoric against Luis Rubiales, the disgraced former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, who created an international scandal when he kissed Jenni Hermoso square on the lips following the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

"I must acknowledge that explaining what has been happening with Luis Rubiales during these years has been very difficult," Tebas wrote on Twitter in August. "I have the sense that many people, until now, didn't understand what members of the football institutions have had to endure in dealing with him as president of the RFEF. The misogynistic gestures, vulgar expressions, the protocol disaster, and the insults in this recent global embarrassment aren't a surprise and had obvious precedents that should have prevented a new victim."

Hypothetically, if he were to be pressed, Tebas could explain away this dichotomy by saying the burden of proof in Greenwood's case was never provided. But that wouldn't address the bald hypocrisy in his response to those frightening allegations against Greenwood, especially when he took such a strong, visceral stance against personal rival Rubiales. In short: Greenwood is good for business, especially as he is "innocent" of the charges against him. Rubiales was bad for business, his scandal deemed "worse" in the eyes of a league that hasn't yet been able to shake its image problems abroad.

A separate flashpoint in the global perception of La Liga occurred last May, when Real Madrid visited Mestalla to take on Valencia. That game was halted in the second half as Vinicius Junior was subjected to racial abuse from fans of Los Che – two attendees identified by Valencia were eventually banned for life. In the aftermath of that shocking event, Vinicius became a global ambassador in football's fight against racism, and the Brazilian this past Saturday marked his return to Mestalla by scoring a brace in Madrid's controversial 2-2 draw – holding a fist to the sky after his first goal, scored in the front of the stand where the abuse originated last year.

However, Saturday's showdown in Valencia wasn't only controversial because of referee Jesus Gil Manzano's decision to blow the final whistle just as Bellingham nodded home what would have been Los Blancos' winning goal. A fan video captured a child insulting Vinicius from the stands, an incident that La Liga will investigate (although the child cannot be held criminally liable). And after the game, Madridistas on social media tore into loanee Peter Federico Gonzalez, a Castilla midfielder who joined Valencia on a temporary basis at the end of the January transfer window.

Some of the insults that Peter received:

"What can be expexted of someone who comes from a country like the Dominican Republic."

"If it wasn't for Madrid, you'd be delivering food in an Uber."

Spanish football has a racism epidemic. pic.twitter.com/bnZlOz61zq

— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) March 3, 2024

Peter, born in Madrid and of Dominican heritage, was subjected to repugnant insults on Instagram following an energetic substitute appearance against his parent club. One user called him a "rat." Another said he should be driving for Uber and delivering food. Still another questioned "what could be expected of someone from the Dominican." The avalanche of epithets led Peter to close comments on his Instagram account, and an official statement from Valencia decried the messages as "totally inadmissible" and harmful toward efforts to create "a society free of discrimination and violence."

El @valenciacf reitera su compromiso en la lucha contra la discriminación en cualquiera de sus formas.

Son totalmente inadmisibles algunos comentarios fomentando el odio que está recibiendo nuestro jugador Peter Federico.

Por un fútbol y una sociedad libre de discriminación y… pic.twitter.com/zLVhhkVkSn

— Valencia CF (@valenciacf) March 3, 2024

It is troubling, then, that the head of La Liga is so quick to defend an individual like Greenwood and so eager to defend the competition against Vinicius' claims that Spain is a racist country when justice will never be done to Mouctar Diakhaby for the abuse he received from Juan Cala in 2021. It was disheartening to see footage of masked Athletic Club ultras violently assaulting an Atletico supporter prior to Thursday's Copa del Rey semifinal second leg. Nastiness abounds in the treatment of referees, from both fans and players, and it shows little sign of improving in the short term.

Some of these problems fall on Tebas' shoulders, and he is a man who has on occasion demonstrated that he is not a serious person. But it's not a stretch to argue that the integrity of La Liga is at stake when it has gained an unfortunate reputation as a competition that invites racism and chooses its business model over the character of those who spread it around the world.

This league is one of the best-attended sporting competitions on Earth. The culture surrounding it is harming the international standing and potential for growth of such a beautiful tournament.

Jeremy Beren can be found on social media, and if you're hungry for more, find their excellent work here.

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