Greenwood 'wants Spanish FA to drop Jude Bellingham investigation'

Mason Greenwood reportedly wants Spanish football bosses to drop an investigation after Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham allegedly aimed at slur at the forward during a match.

The clash between Bellingham and Greenwood was reported by La Liga to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

'It must also be reported that after the end of the match, messages were detected through social media regarding a possible incident in which visiting player Jude Bellingham allegedly insulted local player Mason Greenwood in English,' an incident report noted.

'Numerous media outlets have reported on this incident, as evidenced in the attached incident report.'

Bellingham had landed a crunching tackle on the Getafe player to force the ball out of play, and when footage of the incident circulated on social media, fans believe they noticed the England international mutter the word 'rapist' at the forward.

Greenwood had previously been charged with attempted rape, assault, and coercive behaviour in January 2022 but charges were dropped on February 2023 by the Crown Prosecution Service following the withdrawal of key witnesses.

Spanish reports have claimed Bellingham could be sanctioned for up to four games, according to the regulations, if it is deemed that he did utter the alleged insult to Greenwood.

According to The Sun, Greenwood has pushed for the investigation to be dropped and for Bellingham to avoid punishment.

'Mason has told them he doesn't want Jude to be punished and has asked them to drop it,' the Sun reported, quoting a source.

'He doesn't want bad publicity and wants to get on with playing football.

'He was very upset at the time as he didn't expect it from someone like Jude.

'But he knows he's always likely to be a target for that kind of stuff so he's accepted he'll need a thick skin.'

The Spanish FA's Competition Committee reportedly received a report from a lip-reading expert, after it was ordered by RFEF in the days following the incident.

Expert witness and forensic lip-reader Jeremy Freeman that he is '97 per cent confident' that Bellingham did mouth the insult at Greenwood during their meeting on February 1.

An investigating judge has been required to gather all the available information about what happened, including speaking to all parties involved regarding the incident that night.

The judge will propose either a sanction or dismiss the complaint.

Greenwood joined Getafe on loan after mutually agreed to leave former side Manchester United on loan following the conclusion of an internal investigation into his conduct.

It had been understood that academy product Greenwood would not play for United again.

However, upon completing his £1.3billion minority investment in the Manchester club, Sir Jim Ratciffe appeared to open the door to a return, saying that a 'fresh decision' will need to be made.

Ratcliffe stressed that he would not specifically talk about the attacker's case, rather he highlighted the importance of coming to a decision that honoured the 'values of the club'.

'We need to look at facts, judge fairly and take into consideration what the values of the club are.' Ratcliffe told the BBC.

'Then we come out of that with a decision. It is not appropriate for me to comment on Mason Greenwood.'

Greenwood has scored seven goals and provided five assists in 25 matches at Getafe this season.