Mason Greenwood’s move to Marseille has divided fans in France. The city of Marseille has mixed opinions about the immensely controversial 22-year-old. The French club completed his signing last week for 27 million euros. It is undoubtedly a very good price for an extremely talented young player, that is if you overlook his off-field issues. Les Minots has acquired an exciting product for a very low price in today’s crazy market. However, they’ve faced lots of backlash because of their association with the alleged domestic abuser and rapist. Marseille is a progressive city, with a diverse working-class background, and signing a rapist has left a sour taste in the mouth of the Marseille faithful.
Marseille: A City Divided
The reaction over Greenwood’s signing has been as polarizing as possible. Both #GreenwoodnotWelcome and #WelcomeGreenwood has gone viral in France. Olympique Marseille’s pursuit of the player had plenty of hurdles. Even the mayor of Marseille himself tried to block the transfer. However, the transfer went through due to immense support from the Club President, Pablo Longoria. Many news networks and feminist groups have criticized Longoria because of this signing. “The president spoke about morality after stadium violence, he’s spoken out against illegally streaming football — but there’s no morality for a footballer, just because he’s good. It’s embarrassing and, as a fan, you can’t do anything,” Aryles, of Marseille multimedia outlet Massilia Zone, said.
No Room For Rapists In Football
The Mason Greenwood situation raises themes as old as time. It shows that talent is enough to overshadow dark deeds and unforgivable sins if the player is good enough. Marseille is abandoning its morals for someone good at kicking a ball. Football is not the most important thing in the world. Someone like Greenwood should be behind bars, not kicking it up at the Stade Velodrome while thousands cheer him on. A situation like this downplays the trauma of women who have faced similar struggles. It shows that if a person is talented enough, their sins are pardoned. Mason Greenwood should never step foot on a football field ever again.
