The FA's report into Maddie Cusack's death will be shared with the coroner this week

The Football Association’s report into the circumstances surrounding the death of former Sheffield United player Maddie Cusack has been completed and will be shared with the coroner by the end of this week.

A pre-inquest hearing into Cusack’s death was held at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court on Monday, with former Blades chairman Jonathan Morgan and current club chief executive Stephen Bettis in attendance.

A week after Maddie’s death on September 20, 2023, the Cusack family was the subject of a written complaint from the Cusack family to United. The lawsuit outlined a range of issues she faced, all of which they said stemmed from her relationship with Morgan.

In January last year, the FA confirmed it had launched an investigation into the circumstances of Cusack’s death, and on Monday, the governing body’s legal adviser Stephen Walsh told the coroner that the report was now complete and would be completed by coroner Sophie Cartwright on Friday. will be shared.

Walsh added: “We can give you a general idea that significant elements of the report relate to a disciplinary investigation under FA rules.”

The FA said at the time the inquiry was launched that it aimed to “understand whether further action is needed in our football jurisdiction”.

Walsh said the report is still being independently reviewed.

Sheffield United’s own investigation, which ended in December 2023, found no evidence of wrongdoing.

United sacked Morgan in February last year after revelations about his relationship with a player while he was in charge at Leicester. His sacking was unrelated to the FA’s investigation, but was welcomed by Cusack’s family.

Coroner Cartwright said on Monday that Morgan, along with Cusack’s family, the FA and Sheffield United, had been identified as “strong persons of interest” in the investigation and would receive initial disclosure documents next Monday.

Morgan asked the coroner if there was an agreed-upon timeline or starting point for Cusack’s mental decline.

The coroner said the family felt there had been a “cumulative effect”, with Cusack’s father David adding that the timetable should start in February (2023) – the same month Morgan was appointed by Sheffield United. Morgan did not challenge it as a starting point.

The Ombudsman also approved the provisional list of witnesses who will testify in the inquiry. It included Maddie’s parents David and Deborah, former United player Morgan, United head of human resources Grace Riglar, former club physio Vicky Anderson, Francesca Carr, plus a witness from Sheffield United and the FA.

The Coroner has confirmed that the two-day inquest will begin on April 16, with an overflow date set for April 22, after the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

The family issued a statement last September, a year after his death.

“One year after losing our beloved Madeleine, we as a family remain committed and determined to get justice for Maddie as we try to survive and navigate a world without her,” the statement read.

We seek accountability and it comes with truth. The tragedy that befell our Madeleine must be beyond all. Nothing should come before the sanctity of life. Madeleine will always be ours.”