Maddy Cusack’s manager allegedly made weight comments, discussed private romance and called her a psycho before her death at home

Manager Jonathan Morgan ordered players to disclose their relationships in a team meeting after taking charge at Sheffield United, an inquest into the death of footballer Maddy Cusack has heard.

Grace Riglar, Ms Cusack’s partner and a fellow professional at the club at the time, told Chesterfield Coroner’s Court that Morgan arranged a private meeting with her and Ms Cusack shortly after his arrival in February 2023. Riglar said the practice was unusual and left Ms Cusack feeling “uncomfortable”, particularly because Morgan was her manager rather than a friend.

According to Riglar, Morgan laid down three rules for players in relationships. The only one she recalled was: “If he was to annoy one of us, then the other one can’t hold a grudge about it.” No Human Resources representative was present – only the three of them. Riglar also described how Morgan later referred to her as “Mrs Cusack” in front of teammates, a comment that Ms Cusack found uncomfortable as the couple had always kept their personal relationship separate from football.

Manager’s alleged ‘mind games’ and impact on Maddy’s mental state

The inquest heard detailed allegations about Morgan’s behaviour towards Ms Cusack, which Riglar characterised as a form of “mind games”. She said that when Morgan first joined and towards the end of his first season, Ms Cusack was frequently left out of the starting line-up despite having been a regular starter and an important member of the team. “At the time, no one understood why she wasn’t playing,” Riglar said. “From what she said and what I saw, I’d say it was that he was trying to make – maybe I wouldn’t say mind games – but some kind of point to Maddy that he could do what he wanted because he was the manager.” Ms Cusack saw being benched as a “setback” that “impacted her a lot”. Morgan, who is representing himself, disputed this, arguing that he had started her in five of nine games at the end of the 2022–23 season and in the first three games of the following season after Riglar had moved to Lewes FC.

Riglar testified that Ms Cusack had been anxious about Morgan’s arrival because of their previous history at Leicester City. Ms Cusack’s father, David Cusack, told the coroner that his daughter was “dismayed by the possibility of him coming back into her life” and had been “so happy” to leave Leicester. Riglar described Ms Cusack’s time at Leicester under Morgan as “unpleasant”. She recounted an incident in 2019 when Ms Cusack questioned whether the team was training too much before a game. According to Riglar, Ms Cusack then found she had been dropped as a consequence. Morgan later allegedly told her he had heard her say she was “a WSL1 player and shouldn’t be playing in this team”. In a subsequent meeting, Riglar said, Morgan admitted he had made the whole thing up.

Further evidence emerged that Morgan had called Ms Cusack a “psycho” from the sidelines during a match while he managed Leicester. Riglar said Ms Cusack saw this as proof of his dislike for her. “She came across as a tough character,” Riglar said. “I don’t think she’d let anyone know that they’d affected her, but it did and it made her uncomfortable.”

Riglar also alleged that Morgan made comments about Ms Cusack’s weight at the end of the 2022–23 season. “After one session she’d said that Jonathan had made a comment about her fitness or her weight,” Riglar said. “On the back of that, her eating and exercise habits changed. She’d do stuff like not eat any carbs or skip breakfast, go for extra runs after a game; slight tweaks in her habits which probably weren’t the healthiest at the time for her.” Riglar noted that Ms Cusack was already “one of the fittest players”. Morgan argued on Tuesday that he had called Ms Cusack “fitter”, not “fat”.

The court heard that other players had been visibly affected by Morgan’s behaviour. Riglar said: “Other girls would come off crying in floods of tears just about something Jonathan had said in a training session. One example was in the first year, and I’d say that was quite a common occurrence.” She added that Morgan’s “reputation preceded him” in women’s football and that, in her opinion, the club would have known about it. During Morgan’s tenure at Leicester, his father was chairman and two sisters were general manager and club captain, a structure that Riglar suggested made it difficult for players to raise concerns.

Maddy’s personal struggles and final weeks

The inquest heard that Ms Cusack had been prescribed anti-anxiety medication and sleeping pills, and had a doctor’s sick note for time off from both football and her marketing job at Sheffield United. She asked her doctor not to mention her mental health on the sick note because she feared being “stigmatised and ridiculed” and believed that using her mental health as an “excuse” would lead to her being dropped from the team. Her father said she was “anxious and worried” about combining her full-time football contract with her marketing role and had “lost her joie de vivre”.

Ms Cusack confided in Eoin Doyle, Sheffield United’s head of marketing and her line manager, that she was worried about her finances and considering selling her house, and was dealing with “personal stuff”. Morgan later approached Doyle after noticing a change in her demeanour and suggested she might be “love sick” following Riglar’s departure. Doyle told the inquest he believed Morgan’s disclosure was “ill-judged” but thought Morgan had acted out of concern.

Riglar said that before her death, Ms Cusack expressed a desire to leave football altogether. “She didn’t want to go back to playing football,” Riglar said. “I don’t think she really knew how to get out of that situation.” Ms Cusack had been looking online for new jobs, wanted to move to Dubai and become a flight attendant, and asked Riglar: “If I wasn’t a footballer would you still love me?”

Ms Cusack was found dead at her home in Horsley, Derbyshire, by her father on 20 September 2023, at the age of 27. Derbyshire Police said there were no suspicious circumstances. The inquest continues to determine the medical cause of death. Sheffield United commissioned an external investigation that concluded in December 2023 with no evidence of misconduct. The Football Association opened a formal investigation in January 2024, with a report shared with the coroner but not yet published. In February 2024, the club dismissed Morgan after details emerged of a relationship with a teenage player while he was at Leicester City, a decision the club said was unrelated to the FA investigation and which the Cusack family welcomed. The Maddy Cusack Foundation has since been established by her family to support young female footballers and raise awareness of mental health in professional sport.