Manchester United acknowledge Antony's girlfriend abuse case, state 'we are taking the matter seriously'

Premier League giants Manchester United have released a statement regarding the recent issue surrounding Brazilian attacker Antony as they acknowledge the severity. United on Wednesday, September 6 released a statement on their X handle (previously known as Twitter) to clarify their stand. Antony, 23, has been under investigation by the Brazilian police for having abused ex-girlfriend. As a consequence of the issue, the ex-Sao Paulo man was dropped from the recent Brazil squad that is set to compete in the World Cup qualifiers.

Manchester United release statement

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“Manchester United acknowledges the allegations made against Antony and notes that the Police are conducting enquiries.

“Pending further information, the club will be making no further comments.

“As a club, we are taking this matter seriously, with consideration of the impact these allegations and subsequent reporting will have on survivors of abuse,” read a club statement.

The former Ajax man, now in his second season with the club had been accused of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend in June and further accusations from her were made public Monday. As a result of the investigation against Antony, he was dropped from the squad for CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying games against Bolivia and Peru.

"Due to the facts that became public this Monday involving Manchester United player Antony, and which need to be investigated, and in order to safeguard the alleged victim, the player, the Brazilian team and the CBF, the organisation informs that the athlete has been withdrawn from the Brazilian team,” a statement issued by the Brazil Football Confederation (CBF) read.

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Not for the first time with Man Utd

This is not the first time Manchester United are facing similar issues off the field as they previously had to deal with the situation surrounding Mason Greenwood. Still a United player, Greenwood was frozen out of the squad in January 2022 when he was accused of similar domestic violence treatment by his ex-girlfriend. As a consequence of the situation, Greenwood was arrested and was out of favour from the side despite being one of the best players at the club.

While the investigation into his matter continued, he was released from jail recently and was free to play football. United, however, opted against using Greenwood in their plans and sent him on loan at Spanish side Getafe. The loan moves to Getafe and sees him still owned by United while they also cover the majority of his salary.

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