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Maddy Cusack and players were let down by Sheffield United, inquest told

<ul><li><p>Former general manager says players ‘deserved better’</p></li><li><p>Coach Morgan says he did not raise concerns with HR</p></li></ul><p>Sheffield United let Maddy Cusack down and the women’s team’s transition from part-time to full-time status in the summer of 2023 was not “managed in the way that it should have been”, an inquest into Cusack’s death has been told.</p><p>Ian McCallum, general manager of the women’s team between February 2023 and the end of the 2022-23 season on a short-term basis, also told the court that the club had been “slightly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/01/maddy-cusack-inquest-jonathan-morgan-day-three-sheffield-united">naive about what needed to be in place</a>” for full-time women’s football and that a “talented group of players deserved better”. McCallum said his frustration at the club’s approach to the women’s game had “played a part” in his decision to leave the role in the summer of 2023.</p><p><em>In the UK and Ireland, <a href="https://www.samaritans.org/">Samaritans</a> can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the <a href="https://988lifeline.org/">National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</a> on 988, chat on <a href="https://988lifeline.org/chat/">988lifeline.org</a>, or <a href="https://www.crisistextline.org/">text HOME</a> to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">Lifeline</a> is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at <a href="http://www.befrienders.org/">befrienders.org</a></em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/07/maddy-cusack-sheffield-united-inquest-jonathan-morgan-womens-football">Continue reading...</a>