FA report into Maddy Cusack’s death to be shared with coroner this week
Cusack died aged 27 on September 20, 2023.
A Football Association report into the circumstances surrounding former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack’s death is complete and will be shared with a coroner by the end of this week.
The pre-inquest review hearing into Cusack’s death took place at Chesterfield Coroners’ Court on Monday, with ex-Blades boss Jonathan Morgan in attendance along with the club’s current chief executive Stephen Bettis.
Morgan was the subject of a written complaint by the Cusack family to United within a week of Maddy’s death on September 20, 2023. The complaint outlined a range of issues she had been facing which they said all stemmed from her relationship with Morgan.
In January last year the FA confirmed it had opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Cusack’s death, and on Monday the governing body’s legal counsel Stephen Walsh told the court the report was now complete and would be shared with coroner Sophie Cartwright by Friday.
Walsh added: “We may make an overarching observation to you that substantial elements of the report are relevant to a disciplinary investigation under FA rules.”
The FA said at the time the investigation was opened that its purpose was “to understand whether or not any further action is required under our jurisdiction within football”.
Walsh said the report was still being independently reviewed.
Sheffield United’s own investigation, which concluded in December 2023, found no evidence of wrongdoing.
United sacked Morgan in February last year after information came to light about a relationship he had with a player while he was in charge at Leicester. His dismissal was not related to the FA investigation, but was welcomed by the Cusack family.
Coroner Cartwright said on Monday that Morgan, along with the Cusack family, the FA and Sheffield United, had been identified as “properly interested persons” in the inquest and would receive initial disclosure documents next Monday.
Morgan asked the coroner whether there was a timeline or a beginning point that had been agreed upon for Cusack’s mental deterioration.
The coroner said the family felt there had been a “cumulative effect”, with Cusack’s father David adding the timeline should begin in February (2023) – the same month Morgan was appointed by Sheffield United. Morgan did not contest that as the starting point.
The coroner also confirmed a provisional list of witnesses who would give evidence at the inquest. It included Maddy’s parents David and Deborah, Morgan, former United player Grace Riglar, United’s head of human resources Vicki Anderson, former club physio Francesca Carr, plus a witness each from Sheffield United and the FA.
The coroner confirmed the two-day inquest would begin on April 16, with an overflow date set for April 22, after the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
The family issued a statement last September, a year on from her death.
“One year on from losing our beloved Madeleine, we as a family, while trying to survive and navigate a world without her, remain steadfastly committed and determined to attain justice for Maddy,” it said.
“We seek accountability and that comes with truth. The tragedy that befell our Madeleine should transcend everything. No single thing should come before the sanctity of life. Madeleine will forever be our always.”
