June 8, 2022: “The case of the unnamed footballer being investigated for child sex offences.”
July 4, 2022: “Premier League footballer arrested on suspicion of rape.”
October 15, 2022: “Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood charged with attempted rape.”
November 7, 2022: “Benjamin Mendy trial: Man City player says it was ‘so easy’ to meet women for sex.”
July 4, 2023: “If the source of Newcastle’s spending makes you uneasy, keep talking about it.”
July 15, 2023: “Saudi Arabia is problematic — but it’s the cash cow the Premier League needs.”
September 4, 2023: “Antony withdrawn from Brazil squad following domestic violence allegations”
Talking about Premier League football in 2023 increasingly feels as though it requires a law degree, or at the very least a basic understanding of things like parole and bail conditions.
“It is just a fact,” wrote Danny Taylor for The Athletic, “that, in the last 18 months, six of the 20 Premier League clubs have employed players at different stages of criminal investigations into alleged sexual offences.”
The narratives playing out on the pitch have been running alongside a stream of far darker ones taking place away from it. These storylines have little to do with the game we love, but at the same time…
