Harry Maguire Expected to Be Left Out of September England Squad

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is unlikely to be included in the England squad for UEFA Nations League fixtures against Iceland and Denmark early next month, following his arrest on the Greek island of Mykonos and subsequent charges.

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Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate will soon name a group of players for the upcoming trips to Reykjavik and Copenhagen, but Maguire is not expected to be among them. His long-term future with the national team is not thought to be in doubt, however.

The Sun alleges that Southgate is worried it is ‘impossible’ to pick Maguire for the two games. It is said he wants to know the full facts of what happened on the night that saw the United player detained by Greek police, and won’t have the chance to learn so before the squad is announced.

Southgate is still said to be ‘open’ to including Maguire for the triple-header of October international fixtures against Wales, Belgium and Denmark, all at Wembley.

Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling have both been briefly dropped in the past for off-field behaviour. But another significant factor in Maguire’s expected temporary exclusion is that his club season ran until 16 August because of Europa League involvement.

The 27-year-old played 55 games during the campaign, starting all of them, and missed only six fixtures.

England’s game in Iceland is on 5 September and Southgate has had doubts about picking any United players, or indeed those from Manchester City, who were in the Champions League until 15 August. Playing for England would mean only three weeks of rest after the longest season on record.

The Sun opted not to mention that detail until the penultimate paragraph of the report.

The tabloid relays further information on the saga, which is alleged to have started when Maguire’s sister, Daisy, rebuffed the advances of an Albanian man described as a ‘gangster type’. She is then said to have been stabbed in the arm with a metal straw, drawing blood and causing her to faint.

It is said that Maguire got involved at that point, with a fight later breaking out.

Standing before a prosecutor on the neighbouring island of Syros, Maguire was accused of ‘violence against officials, disobedience, bodily harm, insult and attempted bribery of an official’ after also allegedly clashing with local plain clothes police, who responded to the initial fight. He pleaded not guilty to charges and has was given permission to leave Greece and return to the UK.

It has been reported that the bribery accusation may have come about as a result of a misunderstanding whereby Maguire and the two others arrested alongside him enquired as to a potential penalty charge they could pay rather than be detained, unsure of Greek law.

Maguire is not required to be present at a trial that is expected to take place this week.

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