Sacked Sheffield United head coach Jonathan Morgan has been accused of ‘inappropriate and predatory behaviour’ by the mother of female player the manager dated during his tenure at Leicester City.
Morgan was fired from his role with the Blades when news of his three-year relationship with his former player came to light, and a new bombshell interview with woman and her mother alleges she had been 17 at the time they started dating in secret, and that Morgan took advantage of her immaturity.
The former manager – who is also interviewed in the piece – has denied that the player was 17 when their relationship began, instead stressing that she was ‘an 18-year-old adult’.
Morgan had recently returned to the Sheffield United dugout following an internal investigation after a complaint by the family of Maddy Cusack in the wake of her death in September.
The Cusack family had alleged that she experienced a downturn in her mental health and wellbeing connected with the appointment of Morgan at the club in 2023.
A third-party investigation, conducted on behalf of the Blades, found no evidence of wrongdoing and cleared Morgan to return to work in December.
But the club were swift to act following revelations by The Athletic that Morgan had concealed he had with a player whilst managing at his former club, where he coached between 2014 and 2021.
The outlet has gone on to share insight into the relationship from both the woman in question and her mother, who both claim that the manager – then in his late twenties – took advantage of his position of power.
The woman – who joined Leicester’s senior squad at 16 and is now in her mid-twenties – alleges that before starting their relationship, Morgan had singled her out for special treatment, including giving her chocolate after a good performance, and taking her to Nando’s as a reward for scoring in a match.
Morgan is also believed to have sent the player a message on Snapchat complimenting her ‘cute pyjamas’ before their three-year relationship began.
‘Sometimes he would say weird things that stuck in my mind, like telling me, “When you’re older, I know you’re going to be a really good-looking woman”,’ the player said. ‘He said we had to keep it secret because he was very family-orientated and that his father, in particular, would not approve.’
Morgan is alleged to have added that their relationship would not be ‘well received’ by the player’s peers.
‘The other players would probably have thought he was a bit weird and that he was taking advantage of me,’ she added. ‘However, at the time I was not experienced enough in life to realise exactly how wrong it looked.
‘At my age now, I feel a completely different person, whereas when I was that young and someone is older than you – and he’s the manager, it draws you in. I know what I’m doing now. Back then, however, I was really immature, silly and easily drawn in.
‘He was older, he was my manager and he should have known better,’ the player continued. ‘I feel angry about it, because it was an abuse of his power and my career has suffered as a result.’
The player later left Leicester ‘take herself away from the situation’.
Initially disturbed by the relationship between player and manager, the woman’s mother has claimed that she found it difficult to contemplate lodging a complaint with the club due to Morgan being enmeshed in its hierarchy.
At the time, Leicester was not linked with the men’s side and Morgan’s father both owned the team and served as chairman, whilst his sister Jade was the club’s general manager, and another sister, Holly, served as team captain.
‘I didn’t want to damage her career,’ the player’s mother shared. ‘Jonathan and his family had complete control and influence of the club, so I could not see how complaining could do any good.
‘It would have harmed my daughter and potentially created a wedge between myself and her. There was no outside or impartial involvement in the club. It was a one-family arrangement from ownership to management to club captain.’
Morgan’s decision not to publicly acknowledge the relationship is claimed to have led to the manager ignoring the player’s mother and when the relationship ended, the situation is said to have become awkward, and at times, unpleasant.
The player describes being reduced to tears or blanked by the manager in the wake of their break-up, as well as being left out of particular fixtures.
The woman’s mother claims the decision her daughter made to leave Leicester was due to Morgan’s ‘improper conduct’, and went on to accuse the manager of ‘inappropriate and predatory behaviour’.
Morgan has denied that their relationship represented an abuse of power, despite stating that he ‘gets that side of it’.
‘But you need to look back in the context of the time,’ Morgan told The Athletic. ‘A lot has changed in that time.
‘Would I ever do it again? Of course not. But it was an 18-year-old adult, not a 17-year-old.’
Morgan has also denied being an outlier, suggesting that similar relationships are rife throughout the sport, and whilst he admitted that he would not have done the same again, he stressed that their relationship had been far from unusual.
‘I genuinely liked the girl,’ Morgan said. ‘We had a proper connection. It was very much consensual. I wouldn’t say it got as far as being in love, but it was a very strong relationship.
‘It wasn’t like it was her, then someone else, then someone else, then someone else (in the team that he had relationships with). It was just her.’
Morgan also denied treating the player differently after their break-up and claimed that he had kept their relationship secret in a bid to protect her.
The FA outlined its position on player-coach relationship in the wake of Mark Sampson losing his job as England head coach after it was revealed that he had ‘inappropriate and unacceptable’ relationships with players in his previous role at Bristol Academy, stressing that ‘in general, coach and adult player relationships are not advised because of the potential for power imbalance and the impact on team culture and dynamics.’
In June 2022 the governing body formalised a law prohibiting figures in ‘positions of trust’ – including managers – from having a sexual relationship with anyone they look after under the age of 18.
Morgan’s sacking comes just a week after news broke that the association were launching their own investigation into Morgan following the conclusion of Sheffield United’s internal probe.
The investigation – which will involve interviews with his former clubs Leicester and Burnley – is ongoing.
Cusack’s father previously claimed his daughter would still be alive if Morgan had not been appointed manager, and Cusack family’s official complaint to the club after her death alleges that the player had left her former club Leicester – then managed by Morgan – in 2019 as she believed the manager had ‘taken a dislike to her’.
She is said to have feared that his subsequent appointment at United in February 2023 would mean ‘history would repeat itself’.
As well as previously coaching Cusack at Leicester, Morgan is alleged to have called Cusack a ‘psycho’ on the sidelines whilst he was managing Burnley, which she believed was further evidence of his dislike of her.
Her family say when Morgan was appointed as Sheffield United’s manager, he dropped her from the starting line-up and allegedly told her she was overweight.
They also claim he told other players about their previous clashes, giving the impression she was difficult to manage.
Via legal representation, Morgan denied ever calling Cusack overweight and the allegation he labelled her ‘psycho’ was found to be false during the initial investigation, representatives for Morgan claimed.
Morgan spent seven years with Leicester City and took the club from the fourth tier to the Women’s Super League before being dismissed in November 2021.
He was appointed manager of Burnley in May 2022 and went 16 games unbeaten before leaving for Sheffield United last year.
On Friday, Sheffield United said that Morgan’s position had become ‘untenable’ after new information came to light regarding his conduct before arriving at Bramall Lane.
Morgan has also been sacked by Tongue Tied Management, the agency which represented him.
‘In the last 24hrs we have learnt new information regarding Jonathan Morgan and a relationship with a player under his charge,’ a TTM statement read.
‘We will no longer be working with him in any capacity and the termination of our relationship is with immediate effect.
‘The termination of this contract is a critical measure in preserving the integrity of our agency. We are absolute in our view that safeguarding standards and processes should apply to all athletes be they male or female.’
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
