Harry Maguire receives suspended sentence following incident in Greece.
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire received a 15-month suspended sentence from Greece’s Supreme Court on Wednesday concerning an incident that occurred in Mykonos in 2020.
The Press Association indicated that Maguire plans to contest the sentence, which was shortened from an original 21-month term handed down in 2020.
The choice to appeal to a higher court will result in the annulment of this latest ruling, similar to the outcome when Maguire appealed the initial sentence in 2020.
According to PA, sources close to the player revealed that Maguire and his legal team declined several attempts to resolve the matter out of court with a financial settlement — including one proposed during the break in Wednesday’s hearing — as he is determined to establish his innocence.
Maguire was not present at the hearing in Greece and is available for Manchester United’s match against Newcastle on Wednesday evening, as reported by PA.
There were no travel restrictions imposed on Maguire, PA noted, which indicates that he remains eligible for selection in England’s World Cup squad this summer.
Maguire was initially convicted in 2020 for assaulting a police officer, using foul language, resisting arrest, and attempted bribery. Reports suggest that Wednesday’s 15-month suspended sentence was given for non-serious assault, resisting arrest, and attempted bribery.
Maguire has not yet issued a statement following Wednesday’s sentencing, but he expressed to the BBC in August 2020 that he felt “scared for his life” and was worried that he, along with his family and friends, were at risk of being kidnapped.
“We got down on our knees, we put our hands in the air, they just started hitting us,” Maguire told BBC Sport.
“They were hitting my leg saying my career’s over: ‘No more football. You won’t play again.’
“And at this point, I thought there is no chance these are police or I don’t know who they are, so I tried to run away, I was in that much of a panic, fear, scared for my life. All the way through it.”
Manchester United has been contacted for a response.
PA contributed to this report.
