England star f lies home after bribery case dropped
MANCHESTER United captain Harry Maguire was heading home to face the music today after spending two nights in a Greek police cell following a drunken brawl.
The 27-year-old England international appeared in court yesterday, charged with assaulting a police officer after an incident outside a Mykonos nightclub.
The two-hour hearing was held behind closed doors on the nearby island of Syros, and 6ft 4in Maguire made no comment as he left the court, flanked by two co-defendants and his father Alan.
He was then whisked away in a van.
The public prosecutor’s office said the footballer faced ‘misdemeanour’ charges of assault and aggravated assault.
A further charge of attempting to bribe an officer, which carried a three-year maximum sentence, had been dropped, according to sources. One local media report suggested that an offer to pay an on-the-spot fine had been misinterpreted.
The £190,000-a-week centre-half – whose £80 million transfer fee from Leicester City a year ago made him the world’s most expensive defender – could face a jail sentence for his part in the fracas on Thursday.
It is believed that Maguire was last night cutting short his holiday to fly home in a private jet. He was due to arrive early today.
A further court hearing on Tuesday will go ahead in his absence, with Maguire being represented by his lawyers.
The court may decide to adjourn for a later trial or bring the proceedings to a close.
But before facing Greek justice, the star must explain himself to the managers of his club and country – just as no-nonsense England boss Gareth Southgate prepares to name his squad for the forthcoming Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who only made supposedly clean-cut Maguire his captain in January, is certain to be equally unimpressed.
Maguire was one of the Premier League captains who drew praise for his involvement in the #Players Together initiative, which helped raise funds for the NHS during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yesterday, a local resident called Kafatos, who witnessed the initial fight in the Fabrika district before police intervened, said: ‘I’m a big football fan and I recognised Harry Maguire, who was with a group of friends.
‘They were making a lot of noise and it appeared that they had had a lot to drink.
‘Another group of British men st arted abusing t hem, saying Maguire was a rubbish footballer and played for a rubbish team.
‘ They were also calling him a fridge and I didn’t really understand what they meant by that.’
He added: ‘Then there was a lot of shouting, swearing and they started fighting. It was a real mess.
‘ They were throwing punches, kicking each other and rolling around on the ground before the police came.’
Local media reports claimed that Maguire allegedly started fighting to defend his younger sister Daisy, after she was stabbed in the arm with a pointed object.
Briton Sam Moore said: ‘ This group of British lads were out for trouble and they were being really abusive towards Maguire and his club.
‘I could hear them singing about the Munich air disaster and saying other vile things. You could tell that they wanted to have a punch-up with Maguire.
‘I don’t know what football team they supported but they didn’t like Manchester United, that much was obvious.’
A Manchester United spokesman said: ‘Following the appearance in court today, we note the adjournment of the case to allow the legal team to consider the case file.
‘Harry has pleaded not guilty to the charges. It would be inappropriate for the player or club to comment further while the legal process takes its course.’
In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, Mykonos police accused three men of another violent altercation once they had been taken into custody.
On arrival at Mykonos police station, according to the statement, the men continued to resist, ‘pushing and beating three police officers’.
The statement also said that ‘one of the detainees tried to offer money so that the trial against them would not be completed’ but did not name Maguire.