August 26 – Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has been handed a suspended prison sentence after he was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult in Greek court.
Last Thursday, Maguire was arrested along with his brother Joe and Christopher Sharman after an altercation with police on the island of Mykonos. The defender and a group of friends had ran reportedly run up a £63,000 beach bar bill in the hours leading up to the altercation, though there is now some doubt over the veracity of the size of the bar bill.
At the weekend, Maguire was released from custody on bail and flew home, but a Greek court found him guilty on multiple charges – repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against and insulting public employees – and handed the player a jail term of 21 months and 10 days, which will be suspended because it was a first offence and the charges were classed as misdemeanours.
Alexis Anagnostakis, a human rights lawyers who represented Maguire at the trial, asked for a postponement of proceedings, but the court rejected his request. Anagnostakis told the court the events stemmed from Maguire’s sister Daisy being injected with a substance by a group of Albanians causing her to immediately faint.
Maguire, who didn’t attend the trial in person, said after Tuesday’s verdict that he had instructed his legal team “with immediate effect to inform the courts we will be appealing”.
He added: “I remain strong and confident regarding our innocence in this matter – if anything myself, family and friends are the victims.”
His club Manchester United also reacted in a statement, with the future over his captaincy at Old Trafford uncertain. The club wrote: “Harry Maguire pleaded not guilty to all of the misdemeanour charges made against him and he continues to strongly assert his innocence.
“It should be noted that the prosecution confirmed the charges and provided their evidence late on the day before the trial, giving the defence team minimal time to digest them and prepare. A request for the case to be adjourned was subsequently denied.
“On this basis, along with the substantial body of evidence refuting the charges, Harry Maguire’s legal team will now appeal the verdict, to allow a full and fair hearing at a later date.”
As an immediate consequence, England manager Gareth Southgate withdrew Maguire from his squad for the September’s Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark. Earlier on Tuesday, Southgate had named the Manchester United player in his roster for those fixtures, but he was then left red-faced by the court’s verdict.
Southgate said: “Having spoken to Manchester United and the player, I have made this decision in the best interests of all parties and with consideration of the impact on our preparations for next week.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1714082087labto1714082087ofdlr1714082087owedi1714082087sni@o1714082087fni1714082087