Lawyer brands Maguire arrest claims ‘ridiculous’
A WAR of words has erupted between footballer Harry Maguire and the lawyer for the Greek police who arrested him.
The England star has broken his silence over being held in Mykonos. He said he was scared for his life and feared he was being kidnapped when he was grabbed by plain-clothes officers – and had no idea he was outside a police station when he tried to flee.
His account was branded “ridiculous” by lawyer Ioannis Paradissis. He said: “Maguire claims that when the minibus stopped, he did not know that it was outside a police station. I would urge all people to have a look at Mykonos police station. It is obvious what this place is either during the day or night.
“There are many police cars parked outside it at night, there is a sign stating that it is a police station.The only way you would not be able tell if it was not a police station is if you are very drunk. Clearly, he was not that drunk, because according to him he was able to fight off a group of men who he thought were kidnappers.”
The Manchester United star told the BBC the officers did not identify themselves when they pulled over the minibus he was travelling in. He said he was attacked and tried to run with a handcuff on one wrist.
Maguire said: “My initial thought was ‘we are being kidnapped’.We got on our knees. They started hitting us in the legs saying ‘you won’t play again’.”
He received a 21-month suspended jail sentence for repeated bodily harm and attempted bribery. But he launched an appeal and faces a retrial. His brother
Joe, 28, and pal Christopher
Sharman, 29, got 13-month suspended sentences. Their lawyers say Harry’s sister Daisy, 20, was injected with a drug by two strangers, an incident said to have sparked the trouble. The player said he was trying to take Daisy to hospital when they pulled up at the police station. He added: “I don’t feel I owe an apology to anybody. An apology is something when you have done something wrong.”
He vowed to clear his name and declared: “I’m really confident the truth will be told.”