Harry Maguire has been denied his day in court for the second time as he bids to clear his name over a ‘brawl’ in Mykonos because of a lawyers’ strike.
Manchester United defender Maguire was holidaying with a group including wife Fern Hawkins, his sister Daisy and brother Joe at a £29,000-a-week villa in Mykonos.
The altercation allegedly started outside the Bonbonniere bar after Daisy was said to have been injected with an unknown substance after being approached by ‘gangster-style’ Albanian businessmen.
Maguire alleged that, despite wanting to take her to a hospital, he was taken to a police station where he was beaten. Worried he was part of a kidnap attempt, the footballer attempted to flee the scene.
Maguire was arrested and later found guilty of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and attempted bribery while on holiday in August 2020.
The 30-year-old was handed a 21-month suspended sentence for his alleged involvement in a brawl on the island. He appealed the verdict but has been awaiting a hearing on the neighbouring island of Syros ever since, with the case dragging on for more than three years.
The England international was ‘geared up’ for Wednesday’s hearing before an appeals court judge, but will now have to wait longer for the case to be resolved as proceedings cannot take place due to a lawyers’ strike.
A new trial date has been set for March 2025, it is understood. It is the second time it has been delayed.
Harry Maguire with his sister Daisy Maguire in Mykonos
Here the footballer is pictured with his wife Fern Hawkins on holiday in Mykonos
The alleged incident happened on the island of Mykonos back in August 2020 – and some three-and-a-half years later he is still looking to clear his name
Harry Maguire has been awaiting a hearing in Greece to quash the 21-month suspended sentence he received for assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and attempted bribery
Prosecution lawyer Yannis Paradisis told the Guardian: ‘The case is going to be adjourned.
‘The strike has meant court proceedings cannot take place. We will be given a new date by the judge tomorrow.’
And an insider at the court told the Sun: ‘A lot of us want to be done with this case.
‘But there is nothing we can do because of this union action. Lawyers can’t be seen to be strike-breakers.’
‘It was the last case due to be heard’, they added.
Maguire told The Times in November 2022: ‘Some people will believe me, some people won’t.
‘But one thing I would say about Mykonos is that I have no regrets.
‘I don’t worry about what the outcome is going to be. I don’t worry about anything to do with it because my conscience is so clear about what happened that night.
‘The people who were there that night, there were nine of us, we all understand what went on and what happened.’
Footballer Harry Maguire (pictured on his Mykonos holiday)
Maguire appealed the verdict but has been awaiting a hearing on the neighbouring island of Syros ever since
Maguire’s sister Daisy was approached by ‘gangster-style’ Albanian businessmen, one of whom started chatting her up, sources told The Sun back in 2020.
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, it is claimed.
Matters escalated after police intervened, leading to Maguire’s arrest.
Paradisis represents two of three policemen claiming the former United captain kicked and punched them.
He said his clients were ‘patient men,’ before adding: ‘They are professionals and they know that justice (in this country) can take a long time.’
Maguire said in November 2022 : ‘Some people will believe me, some people won’t’
Wednesday’s appeal would have come more than 18 months after the trial date was set.
And it is not the first setback for Maguire as it was postponed last May after his lawyer, Alexis Anagnostakis, couldn’t make it due to a scheduling conflict.
It was hoped that the hearing could finally put the issue to rest – some 42 months since the alleged brawl.
‘At this rate Maguire may have retired from professional football when he receives a summons,’ a court official at the Syros tribunal said, confirming the adjournment.
‘After eight years the statute of limitations kicks in. If the case hasn’t been heard by then it will be written off.’
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