ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Manchester United defender Harry Maguire was given a 15-month suspended sentence Wednesday over a nightclub scuffle involving police officers on the Greek island of Mykonos in August 2020, court officials said.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs called on Maguire’s club and the English FA to sanction the player.
The England international originally was handed a 21-month suspended sentence shortly after the incident, but he appealed the ruling, which triggered a new trial at a court on the island of Syros, the region’s administrative capital.
The appeals trial had been delayed several times, including once because of a lawyers’ strike.
Maguire, who turns 33 on Thursday, was convicted on charges of causing minor bodily harm, insulting police officers, attempted bribery, and unlawful violence against police officers.
The sentence was suspended for three years.
Maguire can challenge Wednesday’s decision at Greece’s Supreme Court in Athens.
The center-back, who was not present at the trial Wednesday, has denied wrongdoing. In 2020, he said: “If anything, myself, family, and friends are the victims.”
But a lawyer representing police officers involved in the 2020 incident accused Maguire of displaying arrogance and a lack of remorse.
“He has never apologized — not even once. Not a single apology,” lawyer Ioannis Paradissis told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “As of today, he has a criminal record.
“We hope that his club and the Football Association of England take action against him,” he added. “How is it possible for someone who now has a criminal record and has been convicted of acts of violence against police officers to continue to participate in national teams and in the England team? It's unacceptable.”
Paradissis also issued a statement on behalf of the police officers, who had hoped for an apology as “an elementary gesture of respect.”
“It is incompatible with the values of sport, and with the role-model status that elite athletes are expected to embody, for a person with a criminal record for violence to continue to appear as a Premier League player and as a public figure looked up to by young fans across the world,” it added.
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Manchester United's Harry Maguire clears the ball during the Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Everton in Liverpool, England, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
Manchester United's Harry Maguire reacts during the Premiier League soccer match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace in Manchester, England, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Elmer Rodriguez got his first big league strikeout on what became a strange double play and the right-hander escaped the first bases-loaded jam in his debut for the New York Yankees on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old, among the Yankees' top prospects, pitched into the fifth inning of their 3-0 loss to Texas. The Rangers loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth before Josh Jung hit a two-run single that chased him after 80 pitches.
“Obviously, not the result that we wanted, but I went out there and competed and felt great,” Rodriguez said.
“A lot of good out there, we saw his stuff plays,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Just a little better on the strike-throwing part and, you know, it’s a different line. But still kept us in the game, gave us a chance.”
Rodriguez walked four, hit a batter and struck out three while throwing 42 of his 80 pitches for strikes. He allowed four hits and two runs.
Rodriguez took right-hander Luis Gil’s spot in the rotation after the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year was optioned to Triple-A following a 7-4 loss to the Astros on Sunday. That is a tweak at the back end of the rotation while Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole rehab from injuries.
Even though he threw balls on 11 of his first 18 pitches, Rodriguez got out of his first big league inning without giving up a run, getting help from that double play.
“I was kind of confused at the moment. I didn’t know what was going on,” he said. “But thankfully, I got the strikeout and got the double play.”
Jung signaled for a challenge of a 96.5 mph sinker on a called third strike while Brandon Nimmo, who led off with a walk on five pitches, was thrown out at second on an attempted stolen base. But there was a pause, the ABS review and a conversation among all four umpires before both outs were confirmed.
The Rangers failed to score again in the second after loading the bases when their Nos. 7-9 batters reached with two outs — on two singles and a walk — before Nimmo’s inning-ending flyout to center.
After 1-2-3 innings in both the third and fourth innings, Rodriguez opened the fifth by hitting a batter and walking another before Nimmo's infield single on a hard short-hopper not handled by first baseman Ben Rice. Jung grounded a ball through the left side of the infield for a 2-0 lead.
“Obviously, strike-throwing wasn’t as sharp as it’s going be with him and typically is,” Boone said. “At the end of the day, threw up four zeros and then got himself into a little bit of trouble there in the fifth.”
Rodriguez became only the fourth pitcher born in Puerto Rico to start a game for the Yankees, the first since Javier Vázquez in 2010. Rodriguez pitched for his home country in the World Baseball Classic last month.
“It was great. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of my whole life and just being out there, seeing the crowd, seeing the field, it was something special,” Rodriguez said of his big league debut.
The only other starting pitchers age 22 or younger to make their big league debuts for the Yankees since 2008 were Deivi García at age 21 on Aug. 30, 2020, and 21-year-old Luis Severino on Aug. 5, 2015.
In four starts at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before getting called up, Rodriguez was 1-2 with a 1.27 ERA. He had 20 strikeouts and seven walks in 21 1/3 innings.
Drafted by Boston in 2021, he was sent the Yankees in December 2024 for catcher Carlos Narvaez.
Even before the game, Boone had said Rodriguez had earned his way to the majors and was ready for it.
“He’s got the stuff," Boone said then. “I think this is a kid that is going to have a long career as a starting pitcher in this league.”
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New York Yankees starting pitcher Elmer Rodriguez throws to the Texas Rangers in the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Elmer Rodriguez stands in the dugout after being pulled in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Elmer Rodriguez, right front, walks to the dugout after turning the ball over to manager Aaron Boone, center left, as José Caballero (72), Ben Rice, left rear, and J.C. Escarra, right rear, stand on the mound in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Yankees starting pitcher Elmer Rodriguez makes his major league debut as he throws to the Texas Rangers in the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
