Sheffield United have denied causing any delay to the inquest into former women’s captain Maddy Cusack’s death as the family continue to wait for clarity.
Cusack died in her home in Derbyshire at the age of 27 in September 2023. Police confirmed at the time the death was not being treated as suspicious.
The midfielder’s family confirmed she had no long-standing mental health troubles at the time of her death, but said her attitude had changed due to football in February, 2023.
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An inquest into her death was originally scheduled to take place in April last year but was later rearranged to be held in January, 2026.
It has since been announced that the inquest will now be moved to June after the family was presented with new evidence from Sheffield United about the case.
A 699-page report was given to the family by Sheffield United just 10 days before Christmas, a move which the family’s lawyers declared was “totally unacceptable”.
Maddy Cusack, former captain of Sheffield United. The FA via Getty Images
“Christmas is hard enough as it is without learning a few days before the deadline that we were due to go,” Cusack’s brother Richard said after the hearing on Tuesday (AEDT).
“It’s been tricky, Christmas has been difficult for a number of reasons, not just because of obviously another Christmas without our beautiful sister, but it doesn’t weaken us.
“We’re going to be ready to go again and we just want to make sure that it gets done properly. I personally will wait as long as it takes to get a proper inquest done.”
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A lawyer for the club rejected suggestions “of non-compliance” and the coroner agreed.
Still, the family could be forced to wait longer than the new proposed date for the inquest to go ahead due to the availability of Cusack’s then coach Johnathan Morgan.
Allegations of “bullying behaviour” were cited in a written complaint made by the Cusack family to the club against coach Johnathan Morgan, who allegedly branded Cusack a “psycho” and labelled another player “cancerous”.
Former Sheffield United Women’s Manager, Jonathan Morgan talks with his players. The FA via Getty Images
Morgan was dismissed by the club just five months after Cusack’s death, with Sheffield citing “new information” around his behaviour as the reason for his departure.
Witnesses were put forward by the family to provide evidence of Morgan’s behaviour at the previous hearing into their daughter’s death, with lawyers alleging that there was a “climate of concern and fear” at the club in the lead-up to Cusack’s death.
An investigation by Sheffield United cleared the club of any wrongdoing, although an additional inquiry was performed by the Football Association – the governing body of English football – at the time.
That report from the FA was commissioned in early 2024 but will not be published until the inquest is complete.
Morgan informed the courts on Tuesday that he and his wife have a holiday booked in early July that would clash with the dates of the two-week long inquest.
He has 24 hours to give the court evidence of his holiday dates.
Morgan will be one of 20 witnesses to take to the stand at the inquest later this year. He will be representing himself throughout the case.
Tributes to Maddy Cusack of Sheffield United are seen outside the stadium in October, 2023. The FA via Getty Images
Cornor Sophie Cartwright apologised to the Cusack family for the delay in the inquest, particularly given the timing over the Christmas period.
Cusack’s sister, Olivia, admitted in an interview last year that the ongoing delays for the inquest have taken a toll on the family.
“It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened in my life and you have no control over how that is dealt with,” she told BBC Newsbeat.
“With the loss of Maddy, you want to think of her at peace and that she’s OK. But it’s hard to picture her at peace now when there’s so much chaos surrounding her death.”
“Her life was cut short,” Olivia continued.
“There’s a lot of things we planned together that we didn’t get to experience.”
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