Harry Maguire 'refused to pay £50k bribe' after Greek arrest as Man Utd star makes vow

Harry Maguire has seen his conviction upheld after his retrial in Greece finally went ahead on Wednesday, as the Manchester United star was handed a 15-month suspended sentence

Harry Maguire allegedly refused to pay a £50,000 bribe to make his Greek arrest ordeal 'go away'. Maguire, 33, was cuffed on the Greek island if Mykonos in August 2020 and the retrial over his initial conviction finally took place on Wednesday after four separate postponements.

After fighting to clear his name for the best part of six years, his conviction of assault and bribery was upheld. Originally handed a 21-month suspended sentence in 2020, the Manchester United star has seen it changed to 15 months and 20 days, and been slapped with a €1,500 (£1,304) fine.

Maguire, who has always denied wrongdoing, plans to appeal the guilty verdict. Following the retrial, a report from the Sun has emerged claiming that the England international was repeatedly told by undercover police that if he paid them £50,000, the incident would 'disappear'.

A source told the newspaper that Maguire would rather be found guilty than pay a bribe, and he intends to never pay a single penny. It's added that 'all will be revealed in his upcoming documentary'.

FOLLOW OUR MAN UTD FB PAGE! Latest United news and more on our dedicated Facebook page

READ MORE : Harry Maguire conviction explained - can he play for Man Utd? England World Cup visa issueREAD MORE : Harry Maguire's response after Man Utd star's Greece assault and bribery conviction upheld

Maguire played the full match for United on Wednesday, hours after his conviction was upheld. The centre-back was unable to prevent Michael Carrick's side from losing 2-1 to Newcastle at St James' Park in the Premier League.

The incident took place while Maguire, his family and some friends were on holiday in Mykonos following the conclusion of the extended 2019-20 Premier League season, during which he was United's captain. The group - which included his wife, Fern, sister Daisy, brother Joe and five others - were waiting for a taxi to take them back to their villa when two Albanian men approached Daisy and tried to talk to her.

Maguire claimed that the men injected Daisy with an unknown substance before she began drifting in and out of consciousness. The ex-Leicester player said that he attempted to get Daisy to a hospital but was instead taken to a police station, where he alleges that he was beaten on the legs by uniformed men who told him that his football career was over.

One police offer alleged that Harry and Joe had tried to bribe officers. Maguire, who denies the allegation, spent two nights in a police cell before standing trial.

He was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insulting behaviour. Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also convicted.

Joe has since been acquitted of attempted bribery. The court, however, upheld charges of aggravated assault and verbal abuse of the police.

Click here to read article