Mason Greenwood abandons England to become Jamaica international

Telegraph

06-03-2025

The Football Association has confirmed that Mason Greenwood is no longer eligible to play for England having now formally applied to switch allegiances to Jamaica.
With Thomas Tuchel set to announce his first England squad next Friday, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham was asked whether Greenwood, who has been playing well for Marseille, could be included.
'So, my understanding is he's asked to switch. That's happened formally, so he wouldn't be able to because you can only switch once,' Bullingham said.
Pressed on whether the 23-year-old, who has earned one England cap, had decided to change because he was going to be continued to be overlooked, as he was under Sir Gareth Southgate, Bullingham denied that Greenwood had ever been formally ruled out.
'No, we actually didn't have that communication,' he said. 'I know people asked Gareth about him and Gareth was up front in that he hadn't been in his thinking, because he hadn't been performing at that level, so I'm not aware of any communication we had with him. I don't think there was ever a request or anything like that. It just wasn't one we got to, so it's a personal decision by him.'
Choosing Greenwood would, however, have been highly contentious. His career has been engulfed in controversy ever since he was arrested on suspicion of rape and assault in January 2022. He was later charged with attempted rape, engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which he consistently denied. All charges against him were dropped in February 2023.
However, the incident led to him being sent out on loan to Getafe in Spain by Manchester United and then sold to Marseille amid widespread calls that he could no longer play for United, or be in the Premier League, or should represent England again.
Greenwood's only cap came in 2020, when he was under 21, which means he was still able to change which country he played for. He qualifies to represent Jamaica, who are coached by former England manager Steve McClaren, through his father, who was born on the Caribbean island.
Bullingham was full of praise for the work done so far by Tuchel, describing the former Chelsea head coach as 'brilliant' and 'charismatic' and revealing the German had drawn up a 'longlist' of 55 players under consideration for his first squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers at home to Albania and Latvia.
Tuchel has spoken to all 55 players – including Arsenal's Ben White, who refused to play under Southgate and came home early from the last World Cup.
'He [Tuchel] realised early on that you don't build those connections in the 60 days you get together, so he's put a lot of effort into that,' Bullingham said.
'I think he's got 55 on this longlist and makes sure that he's got a strong connection with them, that they know that he's seen them. It's not only the players in England, it's players playing abroad as well, and I think that that will only stand us a good stead in the long run.'
Tuchel and his staff – including assistant Anthony Barry – have watched more than 70 England players live since taking over at the start of the year and have held meetings with the likes of Jude Bellingham and Angel Gomes, who are among those playing overseas.
Tuchel has been hired with the clear remit of winning next year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and Bullingham said there is no clause in his contract to extend his stay beyond then.
'I think he always said, I might be here for 10 years, but I'll only ever sign up in two-year cycles effectively,' explained Bullingham. 'And the reason for that is he just wants his sole focus to be on the next tournament and be really single-minded with the players on that. It's very early to judge, but I can say that he's made a brilliant impact already. So, we're very happy.'
Tuchel is living in London and based out of the FA's training complex at St George's Park in Staffordshire. 'He's also integrated a small number of his sports team he brought with him into SGP. He's been up there a lot and spent a lot of time with people,' Bullingham said.
'We've already started looking at some of the challenges ahead in terms of America and the different dynamics that presents in terms of climate, distance, altitude, and that type of thing… he's really hit the ground running.'
In a wide-ranging briefing Bullingham backed the idea of referees in the Premier League and English Football League wearing 'bodycams' – as is being trialled at grass-roots level – to cut out abusive behaviour.
The FA is the disciplinary body for such matters and the issue has been highlighted in the week that it published claims Liverpool head coach Arne Slot clashed with referee Michael Oliver after the recent heated Merseyside derby draw away to Everton.
Slot allegedly told Oliver 'if we don't win the league I'll f------ blame you' and was punished with a two-match ban, although he disputed the language he was accused of using. If Oliver had worn a bodycam then the dialogue and behaviour could have been formally checked.
'In the professional game, I think what bodycams are more about is are they something which will be really good for the broadcaster. I think there are different views on that,' Bullingham said, before adding: 'I personally think it is good and it is something which should be trialled and potentially allowed. I think initially it might be trialled without audio and then long-term trialled with audio.'
Bullingham said the use of bodycams had already had a 'big impact' in amateur football. The cost, at £250, can be prohibitive, but there is talk of developing an app that can be used on a phone.
'I think there's more to go on that, so we'll look at some of the things we agreed with Ifab [International Football Association Board, the rule-making body] such as formalising captain-only speaking to the referee,' he said.