Harry Maguire has been granted a full retrial after an appeal lodged against his conviction for attempted bribery and assault was accepted in Greece on Wednesday.
The Manchester United captain, 27, was handed a 21-month suspended sentence by a three-panel misdemeanour court on the island of Syros on Tuesday.
He was arrested the week before following a brawl on the island of Mykonos where he was holidaying with his siblings and friends. The defence claimed in court the fight was started after two men injected Maguire’s 20-year-old sister Daisy with a suspected “rape drug”.
A spokesperson for Manchester United said: “An appeal against [Tuesday’s] verdict was lodged this morning by Harry’s legal team.
“In accordance with the Greek judicial process, the filing of an appeal extinguishes the initial court verdict and nullifies the conviction.
“The appeal has been accepted and will lead to a full retrial in a more senior court.
“This means that Harry has no criminal record and is once again presumed innocent until proven guilty. Accordingly, he is not subject to any international travel restrictions.”
Asserting his innocence
A date for the retrial has not yet been fixed and, according to the club, could take a matter of months before it is heard. He will continue to captain the club during this time.
However, he remains out of the England squad, having been removed by manager Gareth Southgate following his guilty verdict.
His brother Joe and a third man were also found guilty on similar charges. They were both handed sentences of 13 months.
According to United, Maguire “continues to strongly assert his innocence” and the trial gave his lawyers “minimal time to digest the charges and prepare”.
Speaking to Sky News following news of the appeal, prosecution lawyer Yoannis Paradissis said that the victims were waiting for an apology and were “appalled” at the defending assertion that the Greek police were to blame for the incident escalating.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/32q843u
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