Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs cleared of assaulting former girlfriend and her sister

Former Manchester United footballer and ex-Wales manager Ryan Giggs was on Tuesday (July 18) cleared of teh allegations of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and her sister. The development comes as a huge relief for the ex-footballer after charges were pulled out by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) at a hearing at Manchester Crown Court.

The 48-year-old Giggs had denied all such claims of assaulting Kate Greville and her sister Emma. Judge Hilary Manley directed that he was not guilty on all three counts. It is to be noted that theretrial had been due to kick off at Manchester Crown Court on 31 July.

Giggs was cleared of all charges after Kate Greville withdrew her co-operation from the case ahead of a scheduled re-trial in two weeks' time.Giggs had faced up to five years in jail if convicted. Jurors failed to agree on their verdicts following a trial held last August.

Giggs was not in court when the decision was announced.

In August 2022, the jurors failed to reach verdicts after more than 20 hours of deliberations in Giggs' four-week trial. Back then, the judge had given his consent that the ex-Wales manager does not need to be in attendance for the deliberations.

Giggs' defence barrister, Chris Daw KC stated after the latest decision,"Mr Giggs is deeply relieved that the case has finally come to an end after almost three years of fighting to clear his name. He now intends to rebuild his life and career as an innocent man."

The Red Devils' legend Giggs did admit that he was unfaithful in his relationship with Kate, however, he denied accepting charges of physically assaulting any woman. In addition, he even rejected claims of 'losing control'and headbutting his ex-girlfriend as well as assaulting her 26-year-old sister Emma by elbowing her in the jaw during a row at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester on 1 November 2020.

After a lengthy court battle, Giggs has finally been acquitted of all the charges and will be a relieved man. The former football is regarded as one of the finest of Man United, having made as many as 963 appearances for them and scoring 168 goals. He also represented Wales in 64 games and went on to serve as their manager for an interim period before being arrested in June 2022 with regard to the serious charges put forward by his ex-girlfriend.

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