August 27 – Manchester United captain Harry Maguire will get a full retrial in a more senior Greek court after the appeal his lawyers lodged was accepted. The appeal nullifies Maguire’s suspended jail sentence of 21 months and 10 days handed down by a lower Greek court on Tuesday.
The defender’s conviction came after a court in Mykonos found him guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult following an altercation at a beach club. His legal team however appealed the decision.
A Manchester United spokesman said: “An appeal against yesterday’s verdict was lodged this morning by Harry’s legal team. In accordance with the Greek judicial process, the filing of an appeal extinguishes the initial court verdict and nullifies the conviction.
“The appeal has been accepted and will lead to a full retrial in a more senior court. This means that Harry has no criminal record and is once again presumed innocent until proven guilty. Accordingly, he is not subject to any international travel restrictions.”
No date has been set for the re-trial. At the lower court, Alexis Anagnostakis, a human rights lawyer who represented Maguire, 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.
The saga has been a major blow to Maguire, who was named United’s permanent captain in January after the departure of Ashley Young to Inter Milan. For the time being, he is expected to maintain that role.
Maguire was also dropped from the England squad by Gareth Southgate for September’s Nations League fixtures following the conviction.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1713482667labto1713482667ofdlr1713482667owedi1713482667sni@o1713482667fni1713482667