Harry Maguire's hometown rallies around England star as he appeals conviction

Members of the community in Harry Maguire’s hometown of Mosborough, Sheffield, have rallied to his defence as he appeals his conviction by the Greek courts.
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The Manchester United captain and England international was convicted of assaulting a police offer and attempted bribery following an incident on the island of Mykonos last week and handed a 21-month suspended prison sentence.

His legal team have lodged an appeal against the court ruling, with Manchester United saying that the appeal nullifies the conviction.

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United have said the appeal also means Maguire has no criminal record ahead of a full retrial.

Manchester United's Harry Maguire (Oli Scarff/PA)Manchester United's Harry Maguire (Oli Scarff/PA)
Manchester United's Harry Maguire (Oli Scarff/PA)

Maguire continues to vehemently assert his innocence and has spoken publicly about the ordeal on the island, in which he says he ‘feared for his life’.

Many people from his hometown have praised the player’s good character.

Hazel Crooks wrote online: “I don’t know Harry personally but know his family enough to say hello to, I have many a time been sat across from him and his family in our local and none of what I have read rings true. As far as I know he’s a decent lad from a lovely family, this is just another example of the press twisting the truth to make a story, they once again should be ashamed of themselves.”

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Claire Tindle said: “Great news for all the family. Still praying that the truth will come out and Harry and Joe will have their names cleared.”

And, responding to the news about the appeal, Paula Wilkinson-Taylor posted: “Slowly this nightmare is turning around... the truth will be told very soon.”

Talking in detail about the ordeal last night (August 27), Maguire said he thought he was being kidnapped during his arrest in Greece.

“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,” he told BBC Sport.

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“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, I was in that much of a panic, fear, scared for my life. All the way through it.”

Maguire claimed that incident took place outside a police station after he attempted to take his younger sister Daisy to a hospital because she appeared to be losing consciousness having been approached by two men.

The 27-year-old denied attempting to bribe the police.

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

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The world’s most expensive defender insists he has no reason to apologise for the incident, which happened in the early hours of Friday last week.

“It was horrible. It’s not something I ever want to do again. I don’t wish it on anybody. It’s the first time I’ve ever been inside a prison,” he said.

“I don’t feel like I owe an apology to anybody. An apology is something when you’ve done something wrong or regret. I regret being in the situation.”