Shamed England star’s jail term for bar brawl — but he says HE’S the victim!
England star’s jail term for bar brawl He lied to Greek court and tried to bribe police Asked them: Don’t you know who I am? Bragged of wealth, failed to apologise... yet still says:
HARRY Maguire was told he should ‘hang his head in shame’ last night after he was found guilty of attacking Greek police and then trying to bribe his way out of it.
The England footballer was given a suspended prison sentence for his part in a early-hours brawl on the holiday island of Mykonos on Friday.
Maguire launched an immediate appeal, saying he and his family were ‘the victims’ and he would fight to prove his innocence.
Judges heard that Maguire, 27, told officers who arrested him, his brother and a friend: ‘Don’t you know who I am – I’m the captain of Manchester United. I am very rich. I can give you money. I can pay you – please let us go.’
Last night Maguire was dropped from England’s next two matches, only hours after he had been announced in the squad.
Maguire was convicted of assaulting police, verbal abuse and attempted bribery at the end of a day-long trial in front of three judges on the island of Syros yesterday. His 21-month jail term was suspended for three years as it was his first offence and the crimes were considered ‘misdemeanours’. He was not in court.
His brother Joe, 28, was convicted of assault, attacking police and attempted bribery, while Christopher Sharman, 29, was found guilty of two assaults and verbal abuse. They each h received 13-month suspended sentences.
Prosecution lawyer Yoannis Paradissis said: d: ‘Maguire is a role model, he should hang his is head in shame and return to Greece to apologise.’ oho He said the three men were ‘liars’ who had failed to apologise for their actions.
In a statement after the verdict, Maguire re said: ‘ Following the hearing today, I have ve instructed my legal team with immediate effect ct to inform the courts we will be appealing.
‘I remain strong and confident regarding our ur innocence in this matter – if anything myself, lf, family and friends are the victims.’
Manchester United said it stood by the he £190,000-a-week defender it paid a record d £80million for a year ago. The conviction could d put at risk the father- of- two’s lucrative ve endorsements with brands such as Puma.
Maguire had been allowed to fly home after er his release from custody on Saturday.
His father Alan was in court as his legal team m applied unsuccessfully for the case to be adjourned. Defence lawyer Alexis Anagnostakis claimed the three men had gone to the aid of Maguire’s 20-year-old sister Daisy, who fainted on a night out.
They claimed she was injected with a daterape drug by ‘ two Albanians’ they did not know, who then fled.
When plain-clothed police officers arrived on the scene, Maguire and his party mistook them for more troublemakers and a scuffle broke out.
They asked to be taken to the local hospital but instead they were driven to a police station, Mr Anagnostakis said. At one stage police started kicking Maguire’s leg and telling him: ‘Your career is over.’
Maguire’s friend Ashden Morley told the court Maguire’s sister had been approached by ‘two Albanian-looking’ men as some of the group went to buy kebabs. Miss Maguire’s eyes ‘rolled’ in her head, leaving the group fearing she had been injected with a date rape drug.
‘All the girls started screaming, other people were coming down and there was a real commotion,’ he said. As they returned to their minibus to take her to hospital, they were stopped by a group of men in two cars.
‘The door was pulled open by a man,’ Mr Morley said. ‘We thought we were either being robbed or kidnapped. Everybody was very scared.’ But three officers denied this. Georgios Gelebessis said he and his colleagues showed Maguire and his party their identity cards. Christos Atreidis said he did not know who Maguire was at the time and, even if he had, ‘it wouldn’t have made any difference’.
Mickolos Kolios told the court Maguire began pushing his colleagues and was abusive..
After the verdict, Mr Paradissis told Sky News: ‘We found their behaviour totally unsportsmanlike.
‘We do understand, especially if you have been drinking and something bad happens, and then we consider that when you are a sportsman and a role model you have to accept what you have done and say you are sorry. They have said it was all the fault of the policemen because of police brutality and the police tried to drag them forcefully, which of course is a total lie and was not accepted by the court.
‘However, the victims – the policemen – the only thing they want is an apology and they still haven’t received one and we are totally appalled by that. The whole thing could have ended with an apology.’
Maguire’s fiancee Fern Hawkins, 26, the mother of his two young daughters, tweeted: ‘These people are trying to ruin Harry’s reputation and anyone who believes these lies is deluded. Harry knew exactly they knew who he was, as they repeatedly beat him moments before, shouting his football career is over and that he would never play again. Makes me sick.’
Maguire’s brother Laurence, 23, tweeted: ‘This is crazy – anyone who knows Harry knows this whole story is fabricated.’