French newspaper says sorry for offering ‘unconditional love’ to Mason Greenwood

L’Equipe says it strongly opposes domestic violence and its headline referred to Marseille fans’ affection for their new player

French newspaper L’Equipe has issued an apology over its coverage of Mason Greenwood’s start to the season and its “unconditional love” headline after he scored at the weekend.
The publication’s front page on Tuesday sparked outrage, given his departure from Manchester United this summer followed an investigation into his conduct and charges including attempted rape and assault that were dropped.
Greenwood, 22, was loaned to Spanish club Getafe last season after United said they “recognise the difficulties with him recommencing his career” at the club. He was sold to Marseille this summer in a deal worth up to £26.6 million and has scored three goals in his first two Ligue 1 games.
L’Equipe has responded with an apology on its own webpage, insisting it strongly opposes domestic violence and the “love” towards Greenwood was from Marseille supporters.
“Our Tuesday cover story about Mason Greenwood sparked a lot of outrage. When a cover story is so misunderstood, it’s a failure,” read the apology. “The idea was to describe in three pages [including the front page] how Mason Greenwood had succeeded in his sporting debut with OM, and how his three goals in two matches earned him ‘the unconditional love’ of his club and a very large majority of its supporters ‘even if it meant forgetting an affair that continues to tarnish his reputation at home, in Manchester’.
“This ‘love’ is not and has never been ours. Since it was discussed that Mason Greenwood signed for Marseille, we have widely discussed the domestic violence that he is accused of. The video and photos of his partner being attacked revolted us. In our Tuesday edition, on pages 2-3, we once again recalled this sordid affair. An entire article recalled that England had forgiven its former child prodigy for nothing.
“Beyond the Greenwood case, the fight against all forms of violence against women has been ours for a long time. We have devoted many topics to it on the site, the magazine, the channel and the newspaper, including on the front page. On the front page on Tuesday, we unfortunately did not find the right words to continue this essential fight, on and off the field. This makes us sad and sorry.”