Harry Maguire said he was “scared for his life” during what he thought to be a kidnapping, following him pleading not guilty for assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, and bribery last week in Greece.
Maguire was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days on Tuesday. His legal team lodged for an appeal on Wednesday, which nullified his conviction and allowed for a full retrial with a more senior courtroom. The captain and centre back for Premier League club Manchester United, opened up about the events leading to his arrest and conviction in a recent interview with BBC.
According to Maguire, he and his family and friends went out for a few drinks in Mykonos, Greece. They asked to be collected by their minibus, which came late. While they were waiting, two men approached his younger sister, Daisy. His fiancée noticed Daisy’s eyes going to the back of her head, she then started fainting and “was in and out of consciousness”.
Maguire claimed that a lot of people started pointing and shouting towards the men who appeared to be responsible for Daisy’s sudden change in demeanour. Everyone got onto the minibus, so they could go back to their villa and bring his sister to the hospital.
“Literally that was it, it wasn’t as what everyone made it out to be,” said Maguire, “it was a lot of screaming shouting, a big panic but no fighting”
On the way back to the villa, the minibus pulled over and was surrounded by eight men dressed in plain clothing, Maguire claims. The men took Maguire and his friend off the bus and allegedly began to get aggressive with the girls.
“I thought I was getting kidnapped, so I thought I needed to go and get help.” He said.
Maguire claimed that the men eventually started closing in on him, so he and his friend got on their knees and put their hands in the air. The men then allegedly began to assault Maguire. “They was hitting my legs saying my career was over, no more football, ‘you won’t play again’.” Said Maguire.
The 27-year-old footballer was then brought back to a prison where he claims to have suffered a half an hour of abuse before being put into a cell. He finally felt relieved and calm when he was in the cell because he finally knew where he was.
In court, he was found guilty on account of resisting arrest, bribery, and assaulting policemen. However, Maguire claims he was not aware these men were police and tried to escape as he was panicked and feared for his life.
Maguire was removed from the England squad following his conviction, however, Man United said he will remain the captain of the team. “It’s such a huge honour to be captain of Manchester United, something I’m really proud of,” said Maguire, “It’s a massive privilege to play for the club, never mind to be a captain.”
When asked who he thinks he should apologise to, the centre back said that he regrets being in that situation and regrets putting his fans and club through it, but “I don’t feel like I owe an apology to anyone” as he feels he has done nothing wrong.
Maguire is confident that the retrial will go in his favour and that “the truth will be told and come out” as they will have more time to prepare and bring witnesses to the retrial.
“I’m strong mentally and I’ll come over this,” he said, “my conscience is clear, I know exactly what happened that night.”