Osasuna are facing punishment from La Liga after their travelling supporters directed abusive chants at Manchester United loanee Mason Greenwood during Sunday’s game with Getafe.
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The 21-year-old made his debut for the Spanish club at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, coming off the bench in the 77th minute and delivering a lively cameo that helped his new side secure a late 3-2 victory.
When he entered the field for his first competitive appearance in 18 turbulent months, he was met with boos and jeers from the home fans and chants of ‘Greenwood, muerete!’ – which translates as ‘Greenwood, die!’
While Getafe supporters have largely embraced the forward, rival fans are clearly not willing to forget his recent controversies, with Greenwood having been charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault in October 2022.
Those charges were dropped when the Crown Prosecution Service decided to ‘discontinue prosecution’ following the ‘withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light’.
United had considered bringing Greenwood back into the first-team fold but made a late U-turn following significant backlash and he was shipped out on loan.
Osasuna’s away fans gave the youngster a torrid time after his introduction on Sunday and, according to The Athletic, the abuse was noted by La Liga’s official match observer, with a legal and disciplinary process now set to follow.
Jogoba Arrasate, Osasuna’s coach, condemned his own supporters over the ‘Greenwood, die!’ chants afterwards, though also highlighted that his own side had been on the end of taunts from the Getafe fans.
‘The chants of “F*** Osasuna” were very bad and the chants against Greenwood were very bad too,’ said Arraste.
‘He is a player who, in the end, the justice system had its say. He is a very good player. But if we talk about chants, we should talk about all the chants, not just some.’
Getafe boss Jose Bordalas was reluctant to discuss the abuse directed at Greenwood but praised the striker, saying: ‘Mason is a great player, we have a lot of trust in him and I think it will be very positive for Getafe and for Spanish football.
‘We’re pleasantly surprised by him. Today was a difficult game that was very back and forth. He helped us in attack and in defence too.
‘He showed solidarity with his team, and he surprised us [physically]. We are still working with him, as he has gone many months without playing. We will talk this calmly.
‘I imagine today will have been special for him and he will have the satisfaction of feeling like a footballer again. What a footballer wants is to compete, to play.’
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