has responded to ’s departure from .
It was announced earlier today that the striker
The 21-year-old has been suspended by United since January 2022by Police with attempted rape, controlling behaviour, and assault.
Countdown star Riley, 37, had saidshould Greenwood remain.
Now, the TV presenter has praised the charity for their reaction to Greenwood’s exit.
Taking to Twitter, they issued a lengthy statement, acknowledging that Greenwood’s exit would be ‘a relief to many survivors of domestic and sexual abuse’.
They wrote: ‘Football is loved by so many people worldwide, and players are often idolised by fans, so the way that alleged domestic abuse cases are treated in clubs has a huge impact on public understanding about what is accepted and tolerated in society.
‘We have heard firsthand the impact this case and the related materials shared on social media have had on survivors of abuse, and while next steps are established following the outcome of Manchester United’s internal investigation, this will happen away from centre stage of Old Trafford.’
They continued: ‘With many survivors never contacting the police to report abuse in the first place, and the majority of domestic and sexual abuse cases not resulting in a criminal conviction, it is vital that clubs – like all employers – have an approach that is wider than the criminal justice system, and which deals with the reality of the scale of the issue.
‘This needs to involve addressing the attitudes that underpin domestic and sexual abuse, and working with players from a young age to make it clear that clubs stand against sexism and misogyny.
‘This is an issue that reaches far wider than football, with misogynistic content widely available on social media, so it is important to recognise how widespread harmful attitudes are and address this.’
Their statement concluded: ‘We reached out to Manchester United last week in light of the statement made on Wednesday, and have since had conversations with the club.
‘Our approach at Women’s Aid remains the same – we want to work collaboratively with football clubs and organisations to increase understanding and awareness of domestic abuse, as part of our ongoing football campaign.’
In response, Riley said it was a ‘great statement’ in a concise tweet.
She went on to repost a message from a domestic abuse campaigner who had tweeted: ‘This decision has exposed the willful silencing of domestic abuse/sexual assault charities in their mapping + poses serious questions about club bosses.’
Riley also reposted a tweet clarifying that Greenwood had not been ‘cleared’ of any charges.
Instead, the charges against him were dropped by his accuser.
Previously, long-time Manchester United fan Riley issued her own statement online.
‘We’ve all seen and heard enough. Pretending this is OK would be a huge part of the problem.
‘It would be devastating for my club to contribute to a culture that brushes this under the carpet. I really hope they do the right thing.’
