Greek prosecutor tells Harry Maguire to reveal video of Mykonos arrest

A Greek prosecutor has urged ‘arrogant’ Manchester United captain Harry Maguire to ‘show us the video’ that the footballer says will prove his innocence. 

Maguire is appealing his conviction and suspended prison sentence after he was found guilty of assault following a brawl on the island of Myknonos last month.  

Lawyer Ioannis Paradissis said the England defender would have done better to retain local solicitors on the island of Syros rather than recruiting an expensive legal team from Athens.  

‘From the start his lawyer wanted to adjourn the trial saying there was at least one video that proved his innocence,’ Paradissis told The Sun. ‘Well show us the video then. Why has it taken so long?’. 

Savaging Maguire’s legal team, Parassidis said the footballer’s defence ‘couldn’t have been worse. It was weak and contradictory. 

‘One moment their line was that he was drunk and didn’t know what he was doing; the next that he was afraid of being abducted and was being violently attacked.’

The UK-trained lawyer said he felt ‘offended’ when Maguire dropped his local solicitors in favour of a human rights lawyer from Athens. 

He said Maguire had ‘come across as arrogant’ and criticised the England player for refusing to apologise or condemn the alleged violence. 

Paradissis previously told the BBC that under Greek law, an apology could lead to some of the accusations being withdrawn.  

Maguire says he was ‘scared’ for his life and thought he was the victim of a kidnapping when he was arrested on the Greek holiday island. 

He says his younger sister Daisy had been attacked in a bar on the island by two men who drugged her, adding that when he tried to take her to hospital he was arrested. 

However, the 27-year-old was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days after being found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult. 

In a statement printed in Greek publication Protothema, one of the arresting officers on the night of the scrap recalled Maguire launching a torrent of abuse as he was placed under arrest.  

The statement alleges Mr Maguire shouted: ‘F*** you all, f*** off, f*** the Greek police, f*** policemen, f*** Greece, f*** the Greek civilisation, I don’t give a s***’.

The statement adds that Maguire, ‘attacked the sergeant…he pushed him away and kicked him in the right leg causing swelling of his left and right tibia.’ 

But Maguire told BBC Sport that plain-clothed police officers, who he says did not identify themselves, pulled over his group’s minibus, threw him off the vehicle and hit him in his legs.

Maguire said he tried to run away because he had no idea who the men were.

‘They hit me a lot on the legs. I was in that much of a panic. Fear. Scared for my life,’ he said, adding that his ‘conscience is clear’. 

Last week, Maguire’s legal team lodged an appeal against the verdict.

Under Greek law, the appeal nullifies the original conviction so there will be a full retrial.

Maguire’s brother Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also found guilty on a range of charges and sentenced to 13 months in prison, suspended for three years.

The three men denied all the charges.

Reports say a fight started at a nightclub over claims Maguire’s younger sister Daisy had been injected with what the defence said was a suspected drug.

‘My initial thought, I thought we were getting kidnapped. We got down on our knees, we put our hands in the air, they just started hitting us,’ Maguire added.

‘They were hitting my leg saying my career’s over: ‘No more football. You won’t play again’.

‘And at this point I thought there is no chance these are police or I don’t know who they are so I tried to run away.’

Maguire said he had attempted to take his sister to a hospital because she appeared to be losing consciousness having been approached by two men.

He also denied attempting to bribe the police.

When asked about the allegation, he replied: ‘No, for sure. As soon as I saw that statement, it’s just ridiculous.’

Paradissis said the alleged attack on Maguire’s sister was ‘irrelevant’ in respect of the alleged assault on the officers. 

England manager Gareth Southgate withdrew Maguire from his squad for the Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark next month, having initially selected him.