FOOTIE pundit Gary Neville sparked a Twitter storm last night after liking, retweeting and then deleting a tweet about Mason Greenwood.
The Manchester United striker, 21, had all charges of attempted rape, assault and coercive control dropped on Thursday.
Fury erupted online when Neville engaged with a post from Nazir Afzal, the former CPS director of public prosecutions.
Mr Afzal said Greenwood was “an innocent man, that’s all we need to know” adding “You are innocent till PROVEN guilty”.
He went on: “We don’t have trial by media. We don’t have evidence that any witnesses were lying. We don’t do “victim or complainant blaming”.
The comments sparked fury with many referencing the photos and audio clip that saw Greenwood arrested and charged for attempted rape, assault and coercive control.
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The claims, now dropped, related to one woman and are said to have taken place between November 1, 2018, and October 15, 2022.
Neville, 47, swiftly removed his engagement with the post, before issuing an apology.
The former Man U right back said: “I liked a tweet relating to the Mason Greenwood news this afternoon from Nazir Afzal. ( the former director of public prosecutions).
“This like is being misinterpreted. It was a clumsy like as I obviously condemn any violence against women.”
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After the charges were dropped by the CPS, Greenwood said: “I am relieved that this matter is now over and I would like to thank my family, loved ones and friends for their support.
“There will be no further comment at this time.”
‘DETERMINING NEXT STEPS’
It follows a statement from his club where they said they are now “determining next steps” for the player.
They added: “Manchester United notes the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service that all charges against Mason Greenwood have been dropped.
“The club will now conduct its own process before determining next steps.”
Greenwood was first arrested in January last year after police swooped on his mansion.
He was due to stand trial in November accused of attempted rape, assault and coercive control.
A spokesperson Crown Prosecution Service said today: “We have a duty to keep cases under continuous review.
“In this case 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.
“In these circumstances, we are under a duty to stop the case.
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“We have explained our decision to all parties.
“We would always encourage any potential victims to come forward and report to police and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
