A jury should be convened for the inquest into the death of the former Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack due to the “significant public interest” in the case, her family’s lawyers have said.
Cusack died aged 27 on 20 September, 2023 at her home in Derbyshire. Within a week of her death her family had submitted a written complaint to Sheffield United outlining issues allegedly stemming from her relationship with the club’s manager at the time, Jonathan Morgan.
Dean Armstrong KC, representing the family, told a pre-inquest review hearing on Tuesday this was a case that should be heard by a jury. He said there was a “clear” public interest in examining the particular position of “young, vulnerable people” and their relationship with those holding senior positions in a sporting context.
“There continue to be significant differences between the men’s game and the women’s game in terms of resource and how people are dealt with,” he said. “There is a significant public interest in examining how people conduct themselves within the women’s game towards what we say are vulnerable females such as Maddy.”
Jury inquests are often required when a death occurs in protective custody, and Armstrong said: “I would draw the analogy of young, vulnerable women in football clubs in a climate of concern and fear. This is one of the first occasions in professional women’s football where these issues are being addressed. I would suggest there is a fundamental need to examine what was in place to protect those vulnerable women, where the impact felt of words and deeds is potentially much greater.”
Cusack’s legal team also referenced findings from an as-yet-unpublished Football Associationreport commissioned in January 2024into the circumstances surrounding Cusack’s death. They said the report found the investigation had “shed light on the resourcing issues particularly acute in the women’s game and the related welfare and safeguarding issues that might arise”.
Armstrong said: “[The] inability to report to the club contributed to Maddy’s deterioration. “There was no one to talk to, no adequate support system in place. That should be at the centre of these proceedings.”
The Cusack family’s lawyers also made a request for a number of additional witnesses to be called to appear at the inquest. Maria Mulla, from Maitland Chambers, said witnesses who had provided testimony in earlier investigations concerning Morgan’s alleged conduct towards Cusack and other players were all “highly relevant” and “would enable the family to feel these matters are being explored fully, as they need to be”.
Morgan, who continues to represent himself in the case, said there had been “a lot of manipulation of information” and said some individuals had not been spoken to or had been “cast aside” because their views “didn’t meet the narrative of what’s been put out over the last 18 months”.
Coroner Sophie Cartwright called for Sheffield United, the FA and Morgan to provide written submissions in response to the family’s representatives’ calls for a jury, a widening of the inquest scope and for additional witnesses by 17 June. The family’s representatives will then have a further seven days to make observations on those submissions, with the coroner saying she would make a determination on those matters by 1 July.
No date has been set for the inquest itself.