I have been following this thread as a guest and feel compelled to register and post as I feel as though a lot of the views of those that would welcome MG back are being misrepresented or unfairly dismissed. I was actually in the camp of not wanting him at the club again and thinking he would never play for United again initially but reading up on the case and this thread has changed my mind.
People speaking with such certainty about a situation where all the facts are not known and there are lots of grey areas makes me very uneasy.
Ultimately I think it comes back to a bedrock principle in this country that you are innocent until proven guilty. This seems to be totally overlooked or downplayed by those that are happy to flat out all him a rapist, domestic abuser etc.
I don't think there is anyone arguing that if he had been found guilty of any of the things he had been charged with that he should ever be playing for United again.
Howver he wasn't.
Attempted rape is such an abhorrent crime and as such, for me, the bar for thinking someone is an attempted rapist is really high. You've got to sure, it's got to be proven in court - that's the system, that's how it works. Anything else is chaos and results in anyone who has been accused being lumped in those that have actually been convicted.
As much as those that don't want MG playing for United again won't like it if you are calling him scum and saying you don't want him at the club remember you are doing so based on incomplete partial evidence (however damning it appears) and you do not have the full picture. And many of these posters seem to be completely dug in to thier position and there wouldn't appear to be anything that could come out to change thier mind - which is never a good position to be in in any argument.
I'd actually be willing to concede that it's more likely than not that he did some or all of what he was accused of. However that's just not enough to condemn him, it can't be in a domestic abuse case. There's way too much out there to create doubt - the CPS not pursing the case as new material came to light, the club statement saying they do not think MG did what he was accsued of, and the club statement saying there was evidence they had sight of that is not in the public domain, the partner's Father's statement straight after the audio was leaked.
I'm not comfortable treating someone who is innocent in the eyes of the law as if they are guilty. I don't think it's morally right, and I think it's wrong to imply that anyone who would have MG back at the club is somehow ok with domestic abuse or that they are morally a lesser person than someone who doesn't want him back.