Harry Maguire given suspended 15-month sentence for Greece incident

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended sentence by a Greek court following an incident on the island of Mykonos in August 2020.

England international Maguire was arrested six years while holidaying with eight other people including his sister, his brother and his wife.

Maguire was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days in prison in 2020, after initially being found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult.

The following day Maguire’s legal team lodged an appeal against the verdict. In accordance with Greek law, the appeal nullified his conviction and meant there would be a full retrial.

Harry Maguire during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace . (Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Speaking to the BBC shortly after his arrest, Maguire claimed he thought he was being kidnapped and said he feared for his life when plain-clothed police officers pulled over his group’s minibus, threw him off the bus, hit him on the legs and told him his career was over. He also said he tried to run away, wearing one handcuff, because he did not know who the men were.

He said: “They hit me a lot on the legs. It wasn’t on my mind. I was in that much of a panic. Fear. Scared for my life. I don’t feel I owe an apology to anybody. An apology is something when you have done something wrong. I don’t wish it on anybody. Obviously the situation has made it difficult for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I regret putting the fans and the club through this, but I did nothing wrong. I found myself in a situation where it could have happened to anybody and anywhere.”

The retrial was postponed on four occasions between 2023 and 2025, before it restarted in Syros on Wednesday.

It concluded that Maguire was guilty of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery.

In accordance with the reduced severity of the defender’s crimes, Maguire’s sentence was reduced to 15 months.

Maguire, who turns 33 on Thursday, is going to appeal to the Supreme Court, which, if successful, would quash the judgement.