Harry Maguire lodges appeal against guilty verdict in Greek assault case

Manchester United captain and England international Harry Maguire's legal team has appealed against the court's verdict after he was found guilty in a brawling case on the Greek island of Mykonos. Consequently, the court gave him a suspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days in prison.

The 27-year old was booked for causing repeated bodily harm. He was also charged for violence against public employees, attempted bribery, and insult after arrest.

According to Greek law, Maguire's appeal nullifies his conviction. As a result, there will be a full retrial of his case in a senior court.

On Tuesday, the court handed him the sentence, which is suspended for three years. On the same day, England manager Gareth Southgate had named Maguire in the national squad for their Nations League ties against Iceland and Denmark in September.

A few hours later, his name was withdrawn from the squad after he was found guilty. Along with him, his brother Joe Maguire, 28, and friend Christopher Sharman, 29, were also arrested last week. Joe and Sharman both have been sentenced to 13 months in prison. All of them, including the United captain, have denied all charges made against them.

In January, the defender was named Manchester United's permanent captain after Ashley Young departed for Inter Milan. According to reports, Maguire is highly probable to remain as United captain during the upcoming season.

According to BBC, one of the prosecution lawyers involved in the case has said that Maguire's lack of apology is "shocking" and "unsportsmanlike." Lawyer Dr. Ioannis Paradissis said that there's still time left for the footballer "to say sorry." Dr. Paradissis represented two of the six Greek police officers.

He said, "It would be different because under Greek law you can withdraw some accusations - non-aggravated bodily harm and the verbal assaults that were shouted at the policeman. I don't know if my clients would accept that but they told me they are still waiting for an apology and they haven't heard any and this is what I find quite shocking and quite unsportsmanlike because fair play means when I've done something wrong, I apologise."

Maguire's lawyer Alexis Anagnostakis is one of the top human rights lawyers in Greece. According to sources, he told the court that the brawl started after Maguire's sister, Daisy Maguire, fainted after being injected with a substance by a group of Albanians.