Harry Maguire: The whirlwind assault case of the Manchester United captain
In the space of seven days since, HMaguire has been arrested, tried, found guilty of assault and bribery and launched an appeal. It's been a whirlwind.
“Last night hurt…” Harry Maguire told the football world on August 17.
Manchester United had been eliminated from the Europa League by Sevilla the previous evening, ending their hopes of lifting any silverware for the 2019/20 season.
“Time to go away, reflect, recover,” Maguire added, promising readers that his team would return stronger than ever.
Less than 96 hours later, the Old Trafford captain was being thrown into cells by Greek police.
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On the night of 21 August, Maguire, his brother and a friend became embroiled in a drunken brawl with another group whilst holidaying on the island of Mykonos.
In the space of seven days, Maguire has since been arrested, tried, found guilty of assault and bribery, and launched an appeal to maintain his innocence.
It’s been a whirlwind week that’s stunned the football world.
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Last night hurt… Time to go away, reflect, recover and be ready to come back stronger next season. Your support throughout the season has been amazing, we hope to see a full Old Trafford ASAP. We’re in this together ? #MUFCpic.twitter.com/mR6OXDzFqy
The upshot, so far, has been a 21-month prison sentence for Maguire, suspended for three years, and an ignominious removal from the England squad (which will surely be temporary).
But the case has also tattered the ‘model pro’ reputation Maguire was given by some media outlets.
Footballers misbehaving abroad is nothing new. But for some, the biggest shock of the whole ordeal is the fact that it’s wholesome character Maguire at the centre of it all.
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There are two very different sides to the story of what happened that night – and the United star maintains he and his family are “victims”.
On Thursday 21 August, plain clothes officers rushed in to halt a brawl which had broken out between two groups at a bar in Mykonos.
The confrontation was taking place between Maguire, his brother and their friend and some “Albanian” men.
Maguire’s group said they had approached two males after spotting them “inject” Maguire’s sister, Daisy, with a “rape drug”.
Daisy’s eyes were said to be “rolling back”, and Maguire bundled her into a minivan so she could return to the villa or a local hospital.
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An argument then ensued, but with no CCTV footage of the incident, it’s quickly become a classic case of ‘he-said, she-said’.
According to Greek police, Maguire started “pushing and hitting three police officers” when they arrived on the scene.
Maguire was arrested and accused of pushing one officer to the ground as he tried to resist (according to police).
After arriving at the station, a group of men nearby allegedly told Maguire “Your career is over”, before kicking his legs.
Police have offered a different version of events, even stating that Maguire attempted to bribe them by saying: “Please, let me go, I am very rich, I can pay, I am the leader of Manchester United.”
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In court, Maguire was found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult.
Still, the £80m defender maintains the accusations are wrong, and his legal team have since launched an appeal.
A Manchester United statement said: “Harry has no criminal record and is once again presumed innocent until proven guilty. Accordingly, he is not subject to any international travel restrictions.”
Maguire himself has so far refused to speak to the press about the incident, and has still not posted on Twitter since expressing his pain at United’s European exit.
Little did he know that this period of reflection would go so horribly wrong.
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Despite the cynics, Man United mop up Premier League’s manager and player of the month awards for September
Danny Jones
As many disillusioned fans were expecting, Manchester United made a shaky start to the Premier League season. However, they look to have gathered some form and momentum over recent weeks.
So much so, in fact, that after having strung together four wins on the bounce – two coming in big games against long-standing rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, no less – they have won both September’s manager and player of the month awards.
Netting two goals and a pair of important assists to go with them, the 24-year-old looks to finally be breaking his duck and underlying confidence issues.
A big goal in the derby against Liverpool and in the 3-1 victory over high-flying Arsenal has no doubt helped lift his spirits.
Man United fans will be hoping this is just the start of a Rashford renaissance.
Moreover, even beyond his direct goal contributions, Rashford’s all-around play looks to be returning to pre-slump levels, playing a key role in the transition and a more fluid forward line.
It seems like the United no. 10 is benefitting from a new way of playing or, perhaps more accurately, a new manager who clearly sees him as a key player in his system.
It’s clear that Erik ten Hag‘s approach hasn’t just benefitted the likes of Rashford and, say, Sancho but the team looks more well-organised as a whole. Earlier this month, Bruno Fernandes gave fans a bit more of an insight into the Dutch coaches ‘strict rules’ and discipline.
The Manchester United midfielder has spoken out in an honest interview.👀https://t.co/TrceVFvjVE
Not only have they kept clean sheets in three out of the last six games across all competitions but there has been a noticeable improvement in both passing and possession stats since he arrived, whilst still being able to sacrifice some of the ball for a more counter-attacking set-up went the game calls for it.
That being said, it is a long old season and many fans will still need some convincing that the squad is good enough to take them back to a competitive level.
Even the man himself isn’t getting too carried away just yet.
Nevertheless, both the panel of experts and those deciding via public vote seem to think his efforts over the last month are worthy of recognition, earning manager of the month alongside his once again firing forward.
This is the first time a United player and manager have scooped the monthly double since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s award in February 2019, who also won it alongside Rashford.
Accolades aside, ten Hag’s patience and pragmatism should serve the team well over the next few weeks, as United still have a challenging run-in.
As well as the Manchester derby on Sunday, their next four games include a home fixture against a growing Newcastle side, Conte’s high-flying Spurs and a Chelsea squad with more than enough quality to end their bad run of results.
Manager and player of the month aside, it’s about getting points on the board and his weekend is massive for Man United’s 22/23 campaign.
Football fans slam rail services after complaints of no derby day trains from London to Manchester
Danny Jones
With derby day approaching, Manchester United and City fans are making their arrangements big fixture and while local Mancunians should be fine, people travelling from elsewhere look to be in a bit of bother.
More specifically, United and City fans living in London (yes, we know the joke) will have some trouble making their way up for the game if they’re travelling by public transport due to the ongoing rail strikes.
Sports writer Barney Ronay shared an exasperated tweet explaining how there are seemingly “no trains to Manchester from London for City v United this Sunday”, arguing that the overall “fan experience is so terrible now some are having to give up”.
Being in the stadium, the most valuable part of football has already been seriously degraded by prices, VAR, stupid scheduling for TV. Dealing with rail franchises (Avanti: a wretched example) pushes this over into a kind of masochism
He goes on to identify this as symptomatic of the “horrendous state of infrastructure killing away days” and even went so far as to diagnose the modern matchday as almost “masochistic”.
Plenty of fans who travel to see their respective clubs echoed his thoughts, commenting that the regular drama of “changed dates/hotels not refunding etc it is becoming too expensive for many” and that even outside of reasonable strike action, matchday services are difficult to plan around.
It is severely affecting away days. Supporting Altrincham in the National League, 14 clubs in the South. No trains due to industrial action is fair enough but outside of that its still really hard work to sort out & not financially viable for many to buy walk up off peak tickets.
Many of those commenting on the thread also clarified that despite tickets being displayed as ‘sold out’ or ‘unavailable’ online, this often isn’t true and it’s more a case of there being no seats left to reserve.
However, just as many were quick to respond that this offers little help to those who need to have a reliable plan for commuting back and forth, even more so when it comes to midweek games or those scheduled on a Sunday like this week’s Manchester derby.
Hard to do that if you have to plan a way back from Manchester late on a Sunday night, work next morning, and you see this for the whole way there and back pic.twitter.com/kzP1xTJtpK
Moreover, others rightly noted that very few people are in a financial position where they are able to buy an expensive face-value ticket on the day on the half-chance they might be able to squeeze onto a packed train and stand for more than two hours.
As was to be expected, plenty of people also took to ridiculing the tweet and the two clubs, advising to simply “support your local team” and so on. It was also pointed out that a United fan travelling to the match from London, for instance, isn’t exactly what most fans would dub an ‘away day’.
Not just premier league. All clubs everywhere. The trains are shit whoever you support
Nevertheless, even those travelling on ‘proper’ away days couldn’t help but agree with the overarching point, with many citing that they regularly spend upwards of £100-150 just getting to their destination.
Any travelling football fan will know – especially those coming to and from London – it’s an expensive habit this football lark and even after you make it to wherever the game is that day, you’re still forking out more for food, drink and perhaps even additional transport to the ground.
Beyond those strictly hoping to catch the Manchester derby, most seem to agree with the strikes and suggested that more needs to be done to combat “the government’s assault on living standards, terms and conditions, pensions” which are subsequently impacting matchday travel year-round.
As for those still looking to try and make the journey into Manchester for derby day, the likes of Avanti West Coast are releasing their train schedule later today (Thursday).
The Manc -
27th August 2020 
