Harry Maguire opens up on Greece arrest, says he was 'scared for life'

Manchester United defender and England international Harry Maguire on Thursday said that he was “scared” for his life when he was arrested on a Greek holiday island of Mykonos while adding he felt he was a victim of kidnapping.

The Manchester United captain was slapped with 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 after his arrest in Mykonos island.

However, Maguire said that plain-clothed police officer didn’t identify themselves and pulled his group over to a minibus and hit him in his legs while adding he regrets putting fans and Manchester United through this.

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"They hit me a lot on the legs. I was in that much of a panic. Fear. Scared for my life," Maguire told BBC.
The central defender said his "conscience is clear".

"I don't wish it on anybody. Obviously the situation has made it difficult for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I regret putting the fans and the club through this, but I did nothing wrong," he added.

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"I found myself in a situation where it could have happened to anybody and anywhere."

On Wednesday, Maguire filed an appeal against the verdict and under Greek law, the appeal cancels the original verdict hence forcing a full retrial. Notably, Maguire’s brother Joe and friend Christopher Sharman were also found guilty on a range of charges.

The three men denied all the charges.

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"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."

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

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