An inquest into the death of the Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack has been adjourned again, nearly three years after she died on 20 September 2023, aged 27. The coroner told the court the inquest would restart on 7 December and apologised to the family.
The hearing, which began on 29 June and has heard eight full days of evidence, had been scheduled to conclude listening to evidence on Friday before the coroner would return to Chesterfield coroner’s court to deliver her conclusions on 27 July. But on Thursday it was confirmed proceedings had been delayed. The court was told that additional documents had been lodged.
The coroner said, in light of the receipt of those additional documents, there was a need to recall Dr Subhasis Basu – the former club doctor – and Francesca Carr – the former club physio – to give further evidence. In addition, the coroner may wish to hear more from Cusack’s GP, Dr Mobeen Bhatti, who originally gave evidence on 29 June, but this was not confirmed.
The coroner also asked Basu’s lawyer whether they could provide contact details for Sheffield United’s former assistant physio Sean Bowskill because the court wished to call him to give evidence. Bowskill was employed at the club from 2022 to 2026 and currently works for the United Arab Emirates-based Al Jazira Sports & Cultural Club.
It is the second time this year that the inquest has been adjourned. It was previously scheduled to start on 5 January, but, on that date, the case was pushed back to 29 June after the family received 699 pages of new evidence from Sheffield United 10 days before Christmas, which the family’s lawyers described as “totally unacceptable”.
In January, Sheffield United’s lawyers said the club “rejects wholeheartedly any suggestion of non-compliance” and the coroner agreed that the club had complied chronologically. The case had been delayed multiple times in 2025, partly amid legal debate around the scope of the inquest.
Since 29 June, the court has heard evidence that Cusack was regarded as “Miss Sheffield United” and the “poster girl” of the club’s women’s team. She had also been described as a “bubbly, lovely person”. Evidence has been heard from her parents, four former teammates, her GP, Basu, Carr and the Sheffield United chief executive Stephen Bettis, as well as several other club staff.
The club’s head of HR, Vicki Anderson, had been scheduled to give evidence on Thursday, along with the Football Association’s head of integrity, David Matthews. The FA launched an investigation after Cusack’s death, the findings of which have not been made public but have been made available to the coroner. On Thursday the coroner apologised to Anderson for how long she has waited to give her evidence.
When the inquest resumes on 7 December, the court will be scheduled to hear from Carr, whom the coroner say might wish to seek legal representation, Basu, who has been represented by a lawyer throughout the proceedings so far, and Bowskill, before returning to the unfinished schedule from July, including hearing from Anderson, the FA and then looking at evidence relating to the prevention of future death. Deborah Cusack, Maddy Cusack’s mother, will also be invited to give further evidence if she wishes, with the coroner adding: “Families often want to give additional evidence [if] it relates to matters arising.”
The coroner asked Sheffield United’s legal team to assist her with a “forensic audit of the system” by which medical records were kept for the women’s team, in order “to understand if there were subsequent or other entries on that system [and] if there have been any notes deleted” in relation to Cusack’s medical records. Earlier in this hearing, the court has repeatedly heard that large sections of Cusack’s medical records have not been found.
In relation to medical records, the coroner continued: “I’m going to separately write to Sheffield University Teaching Hospitals [NHS Foundation Trust] to request Maddy’s medical records from August 2022 until her death [and] to request the audit of any others who accessed the records or imagery and seek confirmation of access to the records.”
The coroner concluded by saying: “I very sorry to the family in particular, Miss Riglar [Cusack’s girlfriend] and all the interested persons. I’m genuinely sorry we’ve got another period before we can conclude this inquest in December”. She added that her thoughts would be with them on the anniversary of Cusack’s death in September and on Cusack’s birthday in October.
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