Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has been named in the England squad this afternoon despite his ongoing Greek court trial for allegedly assaulting and bribing police officers in Mykonos.
Maguire, 27, faces charges of assault, verbal abuse, assault against police officers and attempted bribery after the alleged fight on the holiday island.
The £85m star flew home on Sunday and remained in the UK ahead of his trial, as England manager Gareth Southgate named him in his latest squad this afternoon despite his legal battle.
His trial is currently going on without him, with his lawyers representing him in court and his father Alan also in attendance.
Maguire’s brother Joe, who plays for non-league team Ilkeston Town, is also accused of assault, attacking police and attempted bribery while a third man, 29-year-old Christopher Sharman, faces the two assault charges and is also accused of verbal abuse. All three deny the charges.
Today, Maguire’s lawyer claimed in court that the footballer’s sister Daisy was injected with a date rape drug by two mysterious Albanian men at the bar the defendants were at.
Daisy collapsed, triggering a brawl, and police rushed to the scene, with the Albanians fleeing, the court was told.
The court heard that Maguire and his group asked to be taken to hospital after the brawl, but were driven to a police station instead, where officers kicked Maguire on the leg and told him: ‘Your career is over’.
However, officer Mickolos Kolios claimed while giving evidence that Maguire began pushing officers and getting verbally abusive.
He claimed the footballer and his brother Joe tried to bribe officers, with Harry saying: ‘Do you know who I am? I am the captain of Manchester United. I am very rich. I can give you money. I can pay you, please let us go.’
The court also heard that Maguire said ‘f*** the police both inside and outside the station.
Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher led a defence of Maguire online, refuting the claims from Greek police.
He wrote: ‘Absolute b******s! Every story/rumour someone tells about a footballer always starts with ‘Do you know who I am?’ I’ve never once heard any player say that!!’
Maguire’s brother Laurence tweeted: ‘This is crazy… anyone who knows Harry now knows this whole story is fabricated.’
Harry Maguire and his brother Joe are both on trial following last week’s chaotic brawl in Greece
His brother Joe, 28, faces the same charges and Sharman, 29, (pictured) faces the same apart from attempted bribery
Alan Maguire (left), Harry and Joe’s father, arrived at court shortly after 11am local time ahead of the trial. He was joined by family friend Ashden Morley (right), who is a witness in the case
Reports claim the row erupted after Harry and Joe Maguire’s sister Daisy Maguire (pictured) was stabbed in the arm by Albanian ‘gangsters’
All six of the officers involved in the incident were plainclothes police officers conducting covert patrols in Mykonos town on Thursday night.
Only four gave evidence at Maguire’s trial.
Officer Georgios Gilembesis told the court that Maguire and his friends were seen fighting with a group of other men beside a black van last Thursday night in Mykonos town.
He said that he was accompanied by five other officers who were all in plain clothes.
After approaching the van, Mr Gilembesis said that they identified themselves as police officers.
He said: ‘We told them we were policemen and showed them our identity cards.’
The officer claimed that two men who he now knows to be Harry and Joe Maguire began verbally and physically abusing some of the officers present.
He said that officers then asked the van driver to follow them to Mykonos police station where the attack on them by the two brothers continued.
Gelebessis said all three defendants started shouting in English: ‘F**k the police, f**k you.’
Gelebessis also revealed bruises on his right arm — injuries allegedly sustained during the scuffle with the defendants.
All policemen involved went to the local clinic in Mykonos for treatment of injuries, he claimed.
He said the defendants ‘did not appear to have consumed large amounts of alchohol. They were walking and talking fine.’
Chistos Atreidis, one of the officers who arrested Maguire told the court: ‘We didn’t know who he was at the time and it wouldn’t have made any difference.
‘When we got back to the police station, he said he was the leader of Manchester United and said ‘I am a rich man. I have a lot of money.’
Police officer Ioannis Stretzos added that after arriving at the station, Maguire informed the officers that he is the captain of Manchester United.
He claimed that Maguire asked them to ‘name your price’ and told them that he was a ‘very rich man’ who had a lot of money.
Mr Stretzos added that he was not aware that Maguire was the captain of Manchester United until he told police officers himself.
He added that he responded to Maguire in English with ‘I don’t understand what you want.’
He also claimed that after being brought into Mykonos police station the two Maguire brothers and their friend continued to verbally and physically abuse officers.
He was joined by family friend Ashden Morley, who is a witness in the case.
Mr Morley is set to give evidence he claims will clear all three of those charged of any wrong doing.
The three suspects spent two nights in a cell before appearing in court in Syros on Saturday, where Harry Maguire pleaded not guilty.
If found guilty, Maguire is likely to face a fine rather than imprisonment as the charges against him will be viewed as misdemeanours.
The same applies to his brother Joe and Sharman.
Father-of-two Joe Maguire, from Sheffield, is also a footballer who has played for clubs including Scunthorpe United, Nuneaton Town and Boston.
According to some media reports, their sister Daisy was approached by ‘gangster-style’ Albanian businessmen, one of whom started chatting her up, sources told The Sun.
When she turned him down, she was reportedly jabbed in the arm with a sharp metal straw, drawing blood and causing her to faint, at which point Maguire stepped in and a fight broke out.
Matters escalated after police intervened, leading to Maguire and two others being arrested for attacking police.
Yesterday it was suggested Maguire’s trial could be postponed due to an outbreak of coronavirus in the building where it was due to take place tomorrow.
Officials on the Greek island of Syros have partially locked down a section of the town hall complex which houses the courthouse where three judges will hear Maguire’s case on Tuesday.
Special measures are being introduced in and around the courthouse, but local authority officials are in a race against time to ensure that it can remain open for the trial.
Nikolaos Livadaras, mayor of Syros told MailOnline that the outbreak of coronavirus had taken place in the town hall’s financial services department where a member of staff had tested positive and others had shown symptoms.
He said: ‘We are proceeding with all the necessary health procedures and extending a lockdown in a section of the town hall facilities where a case was detected.
‘This concerns the town hall’s financial services department, where all employees are currently being tested after the director of the department was found to have tested positive for Covid-19.’
The financial department is in the same building and just a short distance from the courthouse, where Manchester United captain Maguire, 27 will stand trial for assaulting three police officers and attempting to bribe them.
If the trial does proceed, then members of the public and the media may be prevented from attending while all those inside will have to wear face masks and maintain social distance. The courthouse is also currently undergoing a deep clean.
Maguire is believed to be in England and does not have to attend the hearing after it was ruled that lawyers can represent him.
Greece has seen a dramatic rise in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, with health officials considering fresh lockdowns for several pockets of the country.
Harry Maguire’s trial over his Mykonos brawl may be postponed after officials on the Greek island of Syros partially locked down the building where his case is due to be heard on Tuesday
Maguire reportedly enjoyed a five-hour drinking session in the days leading up to his arrest, racking up a bar bill rumoured to be around £63,000 on vintage champagne, cocktails, steaks and lobster.
He is understood to have been with Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley, Love Island star Chris Hughes and snooker player Judd Trump, as well as members of his family.
It emerged that Maguire gorged on a £4.50 doner kebab with pals during a boozy night out just minutes before becoming embroiled in a fight that led to his arrest for attacking three policemen.
Maguire, who earns £190,000 per week, wolfed down the kebab after emerging from the exclusive Bonbonniere night club in Mykonos where he had been drinking on Thursday night with a group of friends.