Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has appealed his assault conviction after being found guilty by a Greek court on three charges and sentenced to 21 months of prison, according to Goal.com.
The young center back was found guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and repeated attempts of bribery on Tuesday, charges stemming from an alleged incident that took place while the England international vacationed at Mykonos Island.
Harry Maguire is maintaining his innocence, despite not being present for the opening trial in Syros, where he was transported upon his arrest last week.
Manchester United has been supportive of the 27-year-old defender, whom they paid a record transfer fee for last summer. The club pointed out that his appeal means Harry Maguire is free to travel back until his second hearing can be carried out.
“An appeal against yesterday’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 club explained in a release on Wednesday.
“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.”
Maguire released a statement of his own:
“Following the hearing today, I have instructed my legal team with immediate effect to inform the courts we will be appealing,” said the Manchester United captain. “I remain strong and confident regarding our innocence in this matter – if anything myself, family and friends are the victims.”
Only hours before he was found guilty by the Greek court, England national team manager Gareth Southgate had included Harry Maguire among his chosen few for the upcoming exhibition games against Iceland and Denmark. He has since withdrawn him from that list.
“In light of this evening’s developments, I can confirm I have withdrawn Harry Maguire from the England squad for the matches against Iceland and Denmark,” Southgate said in a recent statement.
“As I said earlier today, I reserved the right to review the situation. Having spoken to Manchester United and the player, I have made this decision in the best interests of all parties and with consideration of the impact on our preparations for next week.”
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