Football
Harry Maguire found guilty of assault and attempted bribery
Harry Maguire has been found guilty of charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and repeated attempts of bribery after an incident in Greece last week, and has been handed a suspended prison sentence of 21 months.
The Manchester United captain, his brother Joe Maguire and their friend Christopher Sharman have been on trial in Greece after an incident which happened in the early hours of Friday morning while Maguire was on holiday on the island of Mykonos with family and friends.
Greek police claimed the three defendants were involved in an altercation with officers on the island and that bribery was attempted after they were taken to the police station.
Maguire, 27, pleaded not guilty to all charges and was represented by one of his lawyers, Alexis Anagnostakis, in the hearing on Tuesday as he was not required to be present in person.
The hearing took place in Syros with his father Alan in attendance and all three defendants were found guilty.
READ ALSO: Arteta Wants Dennis Bergkamp As Arsenal Assistant
Maguire has been handed a prison sentence of 21 months and 10 days, however he will not serve any jail time as the sentence has been suspended due to the crimes being misdemeanours and he is a first time offender.
Following the sentencing, Maguire released a statement maintaining his innocence.
He said: “Following the hearing today, I have instructed my legal team with immediate effect to inform the courts we will be appealing. I remain strong and confident regarding our innocence in this matter – if anything myself, family and friends are the victims.”
Manchester United released a statement in support of their captain, highlighting that his legal team had been given little time to prepare a defence, and said Maguire would be appealing the sentence.
The statement read: “Manchester United notes the verdict of the Greek court today. 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.”
Despite the charges hanging over the defender England manager Gareth Southgate named the centre-back in his squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark.
“It is a decision that I could only take on the information that I have. I have spoken with Harry and I have the insight to the story which is different to what’s being reported,” Southgate said.
“In these instances, I think you can only make decisions on the facts you are aware of. Clearly, if facts change further down the line then I have to review that decision.
“But, I have a fantastic relationship with the boy, Harry has been an outstanding character for us and I have no reason to doubt what he is telling me. It is important that he knows he has my support at this moment.”
Maguire played 55 times for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United team in the 2019-20 season as he captained them to a third-place finish in the English top flight and the semi-finals of the Europa League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
