Manchester United and England defender Harry Maguire’s trial is set for Tuesday after the footballer and two other men were charged with “violence against officials, disobedience, bodily harm, insult and attempted bribery of an official” when police were summoned to a brawl with rival fans on the Greek island of Mykonos.
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire had reportedly been on a several-day drinking bender prior to the brawl with rival fans that resulted in his alleged attack on a policeman on the Greek island of Mykonos, writes The Sun.
Witnesses are cited as having seen Maguire and his friends racking up a £63,000 ($82,463) bar tab in just five hours, sparing no expense on vintage champagne and lobster on 18 August at the exclusive SantAnna beach bar.
The English footballer, who plays as a centre back for the Premier League club Manchester United, was arrested on 20 August after being accused of assaulting an officer in a brawl which reportedly broke out after his sister, Daisy, was stabbed.
Maguire, who joined Manchester United from Leicester last year for £80 million, had flown to the island with his fiancée Fern Hawkins after his club was knocked out of the Europa League last Sunday 2-1 by Spain’s Sevilla.
Together with his brothers and several friends, he allegedly made the rounds of a series of local bars and clubs over the subsequent days, when they were said to have drawn attention from rival fans, who hurled insults at him.
According to reports, hurtful references were also made to the devastating 1958 Munich air disaster, which had left seven Manchester United players dead.
However, it was on Thursday night that things turned violent, when Maguire and his entourage returned to the SantAnna beach bar.
They are claimed to have encountered the same fans who had jeered at them before, yet on this occasion witnesses say they were “trying to wind him up.”
Maguire and two of his friends are accused of brawling with tourists and the police outside the nightclub.
A spokesperson for the Greek police was cited as saying:
According to The Sun, Maguire claims to have mistook plain-clothed police officers for rival fans that had targeted him earlier, after he had reportedly been told of his sister being stabbed.
Maguire was interrogated by a public prosecutor on the neighbouring island of Syros on Saturday morning after spending two nights in a cell there, and was finally allowed to walk free Saturday. The football star’s hearing is set for Tuesday, with his lawyers scheduled to represent him.
The Mirror cites lawyer Panagiotis Petropoulos as saying the maximum sentencing might be up to seven-and-a-half years, but the total would more likely be three years, adding:
This practice is intended to avoid overcrowding in Greek jails.
Accordingly, the vice-president of the Piraeus Bar Association, cited by the outlet, suggested that if Maguire, who earns £190,000 per week, is convicted of the alleged assault, he could avoid three years in jail by paying daily fees. The sum might total £90,000 ($117,801) – less than half his weekly wage.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
