England drop Maguire after assault conviction
Manchester United captain says he will appeal after being found guilty of assaulting police officers
Harry Maguire has been dropped from the England squad after a Greek court found him guilty of assaulting police officers and handed him a suspended jail term. The 27-year-old Manchester United captain said he would appeal after judges found he attacked police, resisted arrest and attempted to bribe officers during a late night brawl on Mykonos. Gareth Southgate, the England manager, dropped Maguire from next month’s internationals within an hour of the verdict.
HARRY MAGUIRE was dropped from the England squad last night after being found guilty of assaulting police officers while on holiday in Greece and handed a suspended jail term.
The £190,000-a-week Manchester United captain immediately declared his intention to appeal after three Greek judges found he attacked the officers, resisted arrest and then repeatedly attempted to bribe police following a late night brawl on the island of Mykonos.
Gareth Southgate, the England manager, dropped Maguire from next month’s matches within an hour of the verdict, having earlier yesterday afternoon named him in his squad. “I have a fantastic relationship with the boy,” Southgate had claimed before the reversal.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, claimed Maguire had insulted the entire nation of Greece. The 27-yearold was said to have shoved an officer to the ground while raging over his arrest, before later saying: “Do you know who I am? I am the captain of Manchester United. I am very rich. I can give you money. I can pay you. Please let us go.”
Defence lawyers said officers had kicked the player’s leg and then joked of ending his career. Maguire, who vehemently denied any wrongdoing and is understood to claim he was set upon unprovoked by eight men not in uniform, was sentenced to a prison term of 21 months and 10 days, suspended for three years as it was a first offence. His brother Joe, 28, and friend Chris Sharman, 29, also received suspended terms of 13 months each during the one-day hearing on Syros, a neighbouring island.
It is the most dramatic fall from grace for a reluctantly famous figure, an A* GCSE student and son of an accountant from Sheffield who scored for England in the World Cup quarterfinal in 2018 before becoming the world’s most expensive defender. Maguire said he would launch an immediate appeal as his international playing future was thrown into turmoil. “I remain strong and confident regarding our innocence in this matter – if anything myself, family and friends are the victims,” he added. Southgate said of his decision to drop Maguire for the matches against Iceland and Denmark: “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.” Maguire had been with a group of four men and three women leaving the Bonbonierre bar in the Fabrika area of Mykonos following an all-day drinking session when trouble flared at around midnight on Thursday. The footballer was not present at yesterday’s hearing but his lawyer and friends told the court that two “seemingly
‘I have made this decision in the best interests of all parties and after considering the impact on our preparations for next week’
Gareth Southgate
Albanian” men attempted to drug his sister, Daisy. Maguire had asked the driver of the group’s van to take them to a hospital but the vehicle instead dropped them off at a police station.
Greek police said the player was arrested as they were trying to break up a dispute, with one of the defendants shouting “F--- the police, f--greece”, as they approached.
Police claim Maguire and the two others “were cooperating at first” but shoved and hit officers when they tried to handcuff them. When asked what led to that change of behaviour, one of the officers said: “It was the women [they were with] – they were being very inflammatory.” Giannis Paradisis, attorney for the Mykonos police officers, said the footballer eventually punched a policeman in the face. The “defendants’ actions show an anti-athletic spirit, and insult not only those I represent, but also the Greek police and the Greek republic in total”, he added.
One of the police officers claims that after being hit by Maguire he suffered lower back pain for days. Maguire was eventually taken to see the most senior officer on duty on the island. Two officers said Maguire and his friend then started telling officers “I am rich, I have a lot of money, I am the leader (sic) of Manchester United”.
However, Alexis Anagnostakis, defending, said Maguire, his brother and their friend had been victims of police brutality during a one-day trial on the island of Syros. The barrister, a top human rights specialist, drew an apparent comparison with the Black Lives Matter movement by telling the court: “Are beatings to the head valid police violence at a time when the whole planet is shouting ‘I can’t breathe’?”
Ashden Morley, a childhood friend of the Maguire brothers, told the court how Maguire’s fiancée, Fern Hawkins, had noticed Daisy’s eyes were “rolling back in her head” and the group suspected she had been injected with a rape drug. She “fainted and the company took the minibus to the hospital, but the driver for some reason took them to the precinct [police station]”, Anagnostakis then told the court. The minibus was followed by two unmarked cars carrying plain-clothed policemen, who eventually confronted Maguire and the others as they got out.
The Maguire brothers and Sharman claimed they were afraid the officers wanted to kidnap them for ransom as police grabbed Harry Maguire and Sharman and allegedly assaulted them.
Mr Anagnostakis, for the defence, denied the allegations, instead handing in medical examinations which said Maguire had been hit by a sharp object and had been scratched. The defence claimed the policemen hit Maguire in the leg, shouting something akin to “we’ll end your career”. The lawyer said police testimonies pertaining to the bribery charge were vague. “They didn’t specify what he wanted to pay,” he added. “They would never say ‘f--greece,’ they love the country, and are keen on the ancient Greek culture.”