Harry Maguire withdrawn from England squad by Gareth Southgate after trial

Posted Wednesday, August 26, 2020 by Express.co.uk

Harry Maguire had initially been selected by Gareth Southgate for the England internationals next month against Iceland and Denmark.

Harry Maguire has been dumped from the England squad just hours after manager Gareth Southgate defended his behaviour in Mykonos.

In an embarrassing afternoon for the FA, the Manchester United captain was initially named in the 24-man squad to face Iceland and Denmark early next month after Southgate was satisfied with Maguire's version of events via a phone call.

Barely three hours later, though, the England centre-back was found guilty by a Greek court of aggravated assault, resisted arrest and repeated attempts of bribery.

He was sentenced to 21 months and 10 days in jail, suspended because it was his first offence.

A brief FA statement from Southgate released less than six hours after the original announcement said: “In light of this evening's developments, I can confirm I have withdrawn Harry Maguire from the England squad.

Harry Maguire withdrawn from England squad by Gareth Southgate after trial
England boss Gareth Southgate has dropped Harry Maguire from his squad (Image: GETTY)

"As I said earlier today, I reserved the right to review the situation. Having spoken to Manchester United and the player, I have made this decision in the best interests of all parties and with consideration of the impact on our preparations for next week.”

Maguire said he had instructed his legal team to appeal the decision “with immediate effect”. A statement added: “I remain strong and confident regarding our innocence in this matter - if anything myself, family and friends are the victims.”

News of the incident emerged on Friday morning and Manchester United, who Maguire has captained since joining the club for £80m last summer, are standing by their player.

"Harry Maguire continues to strongly assert his innocence,” the club said in its own statement.

"It should be noted that the prosecution confirmed the charges and provided their evidence late on the day before the trial, giving the defence team minimal time to digest them and prepare.

"On this basis, along with the substantial body of evidence refuting the charges, Harry Maguire's legal team will now appeal the verdict.”

The first England get-together for 11 months sees the inclusion of Phil Foden for the first time with Dean Henderson, Kalvin Phillips of newly-promoted Leeds and Manchester United's Mason Greenwood the other uncapped players to make the squad of 24.

Aston Villa's Jack Grealish is, arguably, the most high-profile omission.

Harry Maguire withdrawn from England squad by Gareth Southgate after trial
England have included Mason Greenwood for the first time (Image: GETTY)

Full England squad

Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Mason Greenwood (Manchester United), Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Danny Ings (Southampton), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Michael Keane (Everton), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Harry Winks (Tottenham Hotspur)