An alleged brawl involving England footballer Harry Maguire on the Greek island of Mykonos was sparked after his sister was injected with a suspected “rape drug”, a court has heard.
The Manchester United star, who was released from custody over the weekend, was not present at the trial before a judge on the nearby island of Syros on Tuesday.
The court had been asked to postpone proceedings following the 27-year-old’s arrest, along with two other Britons – his brother Joe Maguire and Christopher Sharman – over the alleged incident last Thursday during a family holiday.
But the trial went ahead – as England manager Gareth Southgate named Maguire in his squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Iceland and Denmark.
Maguire’s lawyer Alexis Anagnostakis told the court that two Albanian men had approached Maguire’s sister Daisy – who fainted immediately after being injected with an unknown substance.
Ashden Morley, a friend of Maguire since childhood, said the footballer’s fiancee Fern Hawkins had noticed that Daisy’s eyes were rolling back in her head at about midnight.
The group suspected two Albanian men had injected her with a rape drug, Mr Morley told the court.
Plain clothes police officers intervened to try to calm the situation when one of the defendants said “f***, f*** the police” and an officer was punched, prosecutors claimed.
It was alleged that once Maguire arrived at a police station, he said: “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.”
But Mr Anagnostakis told the court that after arriving at the police station, Maguire was kicked in the leg by officers who told him: “Your career is over.”
Policeman Nikolaos Kolios gave evidence for the prosecution and told the court that two of the defendants ran to get in a van, pushing officers away with their hands and legs.
The defence argued they were breaking away to make a phone call. But the police officer said he did not see them make one.
Maguire, 27, was not in court
The court heard one officer received first aid while trying to make an arrest, because Maguire got angry when he realised he was handcuffed and tried to break away.
The officer who handcuffed Maguire said the footballer pushed him hard, causing him to fall backwards and hurt his back. He also suffered a leg injury and was injected with painkillers and had to take the next day off to recover.
A third police officer gave a similar account of events in court.
Maguire, in the blue cap, at a police station on Syros last week. Pic: Athena Pictures
Maguire has already pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and attempted bribery of an official.
The England defender spent two nights in custody after he was arrested.
He was not in court on Tuesday, but his father Alan was sat in the front row of the public gallery.
Earlier, there was a heated exchange between Mr Anagnostakis and the judge, with the lawyer repeatedly asking for an adjournment.
Mr Anagnostakis claimed his defence team did not have enough time to prepare for the trial and argued the list of charges was finalised on Monday, so he only received a hard copy of the file on Tuesday morning – two hours before the trial.
He did not even have the time to discuss the charges in depth with his client, the lawyer added.
Mr Anagnostakis also said he had in his possession a video from outside the police station on Mykonos, which he said shows the three defendants on the night in a state of “extreme agony”, which he needed more time to verify.
The Manchester United captain was on holiday in Mykonos with his family
Manchester United had previously issued a statement on Friday saying they were aware of the incident and that Maguire was fully co-operating with the Greek authorities.
After announcing Maguire’s inclusion in the England squad, Southgate said he had spoken to the player and had an “insight” into what happened which is “very different to what is being reported”.
The England manager said: “Yes it is clearly a decision that is not straightforward and a decision that in the end I could only take on the information I have.
“If facts or information changes I will have to review that decision, but I have a fantastic relationship with the boy, he has been a fantastic character for us – he has my support at this moment.
“I’m not going to get into hypotheticals of what might happen, but I have got to reserve the right to review if further information becomes available.
“Harry regrets the fact he has brought that sort of focus and attention to the team – he apologised for that – but also has his own side of the story.”
Maguire became the world’s most expensive defender following his £80m move to the club last summer from Leicester.
Along with the rest of United’s squad, he had been given two weeks off – ahead of the club’s next competitive fixture on 19 September, when they are due to open their 2020/21 Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace.
As coronavirus restrictions around the world made many holiday destinations impossible to visit, Premier League footballers headed to Mykonos for the clear waters, blue skies and all-day beach parties.
The England defender pictured on Mykonos
Ms Hawkins posted a picture of her and Maguire in Mykonos on her Instagram page on Thursday night.
The couple have two baby daughters, the youngest of which was born in May, and they were also joined on the holiday by his brothers and sister.
Maguire also spent time on the island with his Manchester United teammates Marcus Rashford and Brandon Williams.
Leicester star Jamie Vardy, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tottenham’s Dele Alli are among the others who have spent their post-season holiday in Mykonos.
