Erik ten Hag backed Marc Overmars over genitals photos scandal

Even by Manchester United's standards it has been a dramatic and distracting start to the season at Old Trafford.

A club that is never far from the headlines has found itself under intense public scrutiny over its handling of the Mason Greenwood affair followed quickly by allegations that Brazil star Antony attacked his ex-girlfriend and two other women.

United were criticised for planning to re-integrate Greenwood following a six-month club investigation and the decision by the Crown Prosecution Services to drop charges of attempted rape and assault against the 21-year-old. Greenwood, who denies any wrongdoing, has now been sent on loan to Getafe to rebuild his career away from Old Trafford.

Antony, meanwhile, has refuted allegations by his ex-girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin that he assaulted her on four occasions. Cavallin has also accused United of trying to cover up one of the attacks at a Manchester hotel in January, a claim the club say is 'categorically false'.

Two more women, Rayssa de Freitas and Ingrid Lana, have now come forward in Brazil accusing Antony of violent behaviour towards them.

Damaging off-the-field distractions are the last thing Erik ten Hag needs as the United manager tries to navigate his way through an underwhelming start to the season that has brought two defeats in the first four games and been further complicated by his public fall-out with Jadon Sancho.

Ten Hag conducted himself with professionalism and poise throughout the Greenwood saga, and will no doubt have to do so again when United return after the international break as he faces the inevitable questions over the allegations being levelled at Antony.

The Brazil winger followed his manager to United from Ajax in a £85million deal last summer and it's fair to say that Ten Hag witnessed enough dramas in Amsterdam to prepare him for the trials and tribulations of life at Old Trafford.

Sancho may not agree right now, but Ten Hag has always shown loyalty to his players and he stuck by Quincy Promes for as long as he could after the Holland international was arrested in December 2020 on suspicion of stabbing his cousin in the knee during a row over a stolen necklace at a family party earlier that year.

'First of all, it hits us, it hits me. This affects the entire dressing-room,' said Ten Hag who had brought Promes to Ajax after the two men worked together at Go Ahead Eagles.

'In this country you are innocent until proven otherwise. We stand behind him including the entire dressing-room. You are always an Ajax player, also outside the field. As long as he's innocent, he's our player.'

Ajax suffered three straight defeats in December – including two damaging setbacks to Liverpool and Atalanta that ended their Champions League hopes – but Ten Hag restored order. His team went on a run that brought just one more defeat in 32 games as he closed out a league and cup double.

The manager continued to select Promes until the player rejoined his old club Spartak Moscow at the end of February 2021.

It was a significant move because Russia don't currently have an extradition agreement with Holland. Having initially been charged with attempted murder, the 31-year-old did not return for his trial this summer when he was convicted of assault and handed an 18-month jail sentence.

Promes is appealing but he also been charged by Dutch prosecutors over allegations he trafficked cocaine between Holland and Belgium.

There was another off-the-field distraction in Ten Hag's final season in Holland before joining United when Ajax director of football Marc Overmars left the club in February 2022 after he admitted to sending inappropriate phone messages to female colleagues.

It included photos of his genitals and Overmars, who is currently recovering from the cardiac arrest he suffered in December, said that he was ashamed of his actions.

It was a huge shock to Ten Hag who had worked so closely with Overmars since his appointment in 2017, and he was quick to offer his support to the women involved.

'Marc Overmars and me were definitely a strong duo. But it's not about me, I won't think about my future now,' said Ten Hag.

'We've had incredibly bad days, of course. I was totally stunned when I heard it. This is disastrous. Of course, you sympathise with him. But the first thoughts go to the suffering of the women. It touches us all to the depths of our souls.'

Again, Ten Hag didn't let it knock Ajax off their stride. They beat Vitesse Arnhem in the Dutch Cup the night after Overmars quit and won 12 of their remaining 18 – losing three times – as Ten Hag secured his third Dutch title in four years. Only a defeat to PSV in the Dutch Cup final denied him a third Double in Amsterdam.

Even after he was announced as the new United manager, Ten Hag retained a certain loyalty to Overmars and didn't rule out the possibility of them working together again.

'We've have been very successful together. It's hard to say it's happening, but it certainly could. That's a romantic thought.'

The Dutch Cup final showed Ten Hag's ruthless streak as he axed goalkeeper Andre Onana from the squad altogether over his poor form. Onana didn't play for Ajax again and the two men left the club that summer, Ten Hag for United and the Cameroon international for Inter Milan.

Their relationship had been tested by Onana's drugs ban in February 2021 after he tested positive for furosemide, having taken a diuretic pill prescribed to his wife that looked almost identical to a cold remedy.

UEFA accepted it was an honest mistake but banned him for a year before the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the punishment to nine months.

However, Ten Hag didn't hold anything against Onana and made him the No.1 target when he decided to replace David de Gea at United this summer.

The 27-year-old moved to Old Trafford in a £47.2m deal from Inter and has made a promising start to life in the Premier League.

United's start has not been so smooth after those early defeats to Arsenal and Tottenham, and Ten Hag can do without any more unwanted distractions as he tries to steady the ship.