28 November 2023 , 07:32
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The family of Maddy Cusack say Sheffield United have agreed to a full external inquiry into the events leading up to the midfielder's death earlier this year.
Cusack, who died at her home in September aged 27, was vice-captain of the Blades, as well as the club’s longest serving player and the first to make a century of appearances for the women’s team. Derbyshire Police did not treat the death as suspicious at the time.
Her family have since issued a statement via the Maddy Cusack Foundation on social media. It read: "My beautiful daughter, Madeleine. The saddest and most utterly heart-breaking reason why I am having to stand here and speak to you today is because of football.
"From February this year, the indomitable, irrepressible spirit, the spirit called Maddy, the spirit that we had so fiercely protected, was allowed to be broken.
"Those who knew Maddy well will be aware that she had no long-standing mental health issues or troubles. Not that there would be anything to be ashamed of if there were, but there were not. Those that didn't know her need to know that.
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"Maddy was a happy-go-lucky, carefree girl with everything to live for and by last Christmas could be described as being at her happiest. This all changed gradually from February this year.
"It is no secret, nor should it be, that Sheffield United Football Club have agreed at the request of Maddy's family to carry out a thorough external investigation into the events that her family believe contributed significantly to her passing at the tender age of 27."
An inquest into Cusack's death was opened and adjourned last month and the medical reasons behind her death were still not made clear. The midfielder spent four years with the Blades, having joined in 2019 and also worked for the club as a marketing executive.
Sheffield United are believed to have agreed to an investigation into the death of Maddy Cusack (Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)In the immediate aftermath of her death, Sheffield United released a club statement and insisted they were "devastated" by the heartbreaking loss. Men's first-team manager Paul Heckingbottom echoed the sentiment, admitting Cusack's passing had "knocked" him.
"First and foremost, everyone's thoughts are with Maddy's friends and family," he told reporters back in September. "She has been a big part of everything in my time here."
On-pitch tributes were paid to Cusack at both Sheffield United men and women's games, as well as England's Lionesses' showdown with Scotland. Both nations donned black armbands for the clash.
Sheffield United declined to comment when approached by Mirror Football.