Mason Greenwood is defended by rival manager as he slams his club’s own fans after striker is targeted with ‘die’ chants
MASON Greenwood has been defended by a rival manager who slammed his club’s own fans for directing “die” chants towards the striker.
Greenwood made his Getafe loan debut yesterday when he came off the bench after 77 minutes at home to Osasuna.
The striker, 21, received a mostly positive reception but was subject to taunts by rival fans with chants of “Greenwood die” heard from the stands.
Now, Osasuna manager Jagoba Arrasate has condemned the sick chants against Greenwood.
But the opposition gaffer also pointed out the unsavoury taunts by Getafe fans which used explicit language.
Arrasate said: “The chants of ‘f*** Osasuna’ were very bad and the chants against Greenwood were very bad too.
“He is a player who, in the end, the justice system had its say.
“He is a great player and in the end it will be very good for Getafe.
“But if we talk about chants, we should talk about all the chants, not just some.”
The Athletic reported post-match that LaLiga will open a legal and disciplinary process over the chants aimed at Greenwood.
But Greenwood had the last laugh after forcing an 86th-minute corner from which Nemanja Maksimovic headed in the winner.
The forward took to Instagram to celebrate making his Getafe debut yesterday.
Greenwood captioned the snap: “Happy to make my @getafecf debut finishing with 3 points.”
Getafe manager Jose Bordalas praised Greenwood’s impact during his first appearance for the club.
“We were pleasantly surprised. He offered us a lot going forward,” Bordalas said.
“We are being patient with him because he hasn’t played for many months. Today must have been a very special day for him because footballers want to play.
“We have seen the response from the fans and from his teammates. We have to be calm but his contribution was excellent.”
Greenwood’s next opportunity to play will come next Sunday when Getafe travel to the Basque country to take on Real Sociedad.
Before Sunday, the Red Devils academy product had not played a competitive match since January 2022, when he started in United’s 1-0 home win over West Ham.
The club suspended Greenwood shortly after he was arrested later that year.
He was arrested on suspicion of rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
However, the CPS dropped all charges in February 2023.
United CEO Richard Arnold previously said a five-month club investigation had concluded that Greenwood did not commit any criminal offences, but that he needed to leave Old Trafford for the good of his career.
It comes as Bordalas had to U-turn on his claim that Jude Bellingham had advised Greenwood to move to Spain.