Mason Greenwood: Sick chants during Man Utd loanee’s debut face probe, as Getafe coach retreats on transfer brag

LaLiga officials are to open an investigation into the actions of Osasuna supporters after a portion were heard chanting some abusive chants towards Manchester United loanee Mason Greenwood during his debut for Getafe on Sunday.

The controversial forward has moved to Madrid’s third-side Getafe on a season’s loan from United after they deemed it impossible for the 21-year-old to continue his career at Old Trafford. The move comes after a wave of protests saw their plan to reintegrate Greenwood back into their first-team fold foiled, despite the serious court case against him being dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

And while his long-term future remains uncertain, Greenwood and his partner have been welcomed with open arms by Getafe with the player’s partner Harriet Robson also being well received at the Spanish club.

Indeed, as one of LaLiga’s poorest and least supported sides, there is already talk that Greenwood could be the 40-year-old club’s GOAT.

And while having not played professional football for some 20 months since his arrest in January 2022, it came as no surprise to see Greenwood making his Getafe debut as a substitute in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Osasuna at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

That’s despite the LaLiga club’s head coach Jose Bordalas doing his best before the game to dampen claims that the Bradford-born forward would feature.

Nonetheless, Greenwood did indeed see some action, stepping off the bench as a 77th-minute substitute during a dramatic 3-2 win.

However, his appearance was tarnished with some unsavoury chants from the travelling supporters, who were heard shouting “Mason Greenwood, die” from the visitors’ section.

READ MORE ~ Mason Greenwood: Extraordinary Man Utd costs emerge over loan move as Getafe coach plays down expectations

Rival LaLiga coaches condemn unsavoury chanting

Now, according to The Athletic, the chanting is to the subject to a LaLiga probe after match officials heard the chants, with a disciplinary process now due to follow.

Osasuna coach Jogoba Arrasate also condemned the chants aimed at the 21-year-old, who hopes to rebuild his reputation and career during his season on loan in Spain.

To that end, Greenwood made a good start, winning the corner that led to Nemanja Maksimovic scoring Getafe’s winner.

However, the distasteful chanting has been frowned upon by LaLiga officials, with a probe now underway.

Reflecting on the chants, Arrasate said: “The chants of ‘**** 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 very good player. But if we talk about chants, we should talk about all the chants, not just some.”

Getafe coach Bordalas, meanwhile, admits he was thrilled by Greenwood’s cameo off the bench.

“What happened and what people say is something we’re not part of. As I said after the Real Madrid game, we can only talk about sporting issues and we’re happy there. We think this [loan spell] is good for him, good for Getafe and good for football,” he said.

“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].

Getafe coach performs Mason Greenwood U-turn

He continued: “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.

“I only talk about the sporting side of things. Today what I take with me is the expectation of the fans, because he is a great player. We are happy [with him]. He has integrated well, taking into account how little time he has been here. His behaviour has been very good.”

Bordalas, however, was forced into backtracking over previous comments he had made claiming Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham had played a leading role into talking Greenwood into the move to Getafe.

However, Bellingham’s camp are understood to be unhappy at the comment, forcing Bordalas into retracting the claim.

As a result, an apologetic Bordalas commented: “I wanted to clear up a misunderstanding there has been. I said that Mason Greenwood came to Getafe because he had spoken to Bellingham.

“It has been clarified to me that this was not the case. I apologise. Mason arrived in a different way. It was our interest and they offered him to me and we were very interested. I just wanted to clarify that, it was not a bad intention.”

Greenwood will continue working on his fitness and hope to be involved again when Getafe next are in action with matches at Real Sociedad on Sunday and then at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday week next on the horizon.

READ MORE: Why Getafe were willing to take the risk and sign Mason Greenwood from Man Utd