It is the heartbreaking story of a talented and popular footballer, her tragic death and the investigation into a family’s complaints about what they believe caused her emotional anguish.
Maddy Cusack’s death in September sent shockwaves throughout the sport and plunged Sheffield United into a state of mourning for their longest-serving player. As her parents, David and Deborah, tried to get through their first Christmas without their eldest daughter, fans launched a petition to retire her No 8 shirt as a permanent tribute.
“She fell in love with Sheffield United, the fans and the city of Sheffield,” Deborah told a memorial service in October. “Maddy became Miss Sheffield United and adored every minute of it. This was her home, the place she envisioned she would hang up her boots one day.”
Cusack started playing football at the age of five and spent time in the junior setups at Chesterfield, Nottingham Forest and Leicester City before being taken on by Aston Villa and representing England’s under-19s. An energetic, tough-tackling midfielder, she went on to play for Birmingham City and Leicester City before moving to Sheffield, where she became the team’s first women’s player to make more than 100 appearances.
That everything ended so tragically has caused…
