Harry Maguire could face World Cup misery after Greek conviction issue | Football | Sport
Harry Maguire’s recent conviction from the Greek courts could impact his hopes of getting a visa for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Maguire, 32, saw his assault and bribery conviction be upheld by Greek courts, more than half a decade after he was initially arrested in Mykonos.
The Manchester United defender was handed a 15-month and 20 day sentence from the courts, as well as a €1,500 fine. He was charged with non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery after an altercation outside a bar on the Greek island. Maguire, who was not required to appear in court in Greece, denies all charges and his legal team will appeal the verdict in a bid to get it quashed. If they are unsuccessful, the process of obtaining a visa for this summer’s competition will become difficult, reports The Sun.
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On the US Embassy and Consulates in the United Kingdom website, it states: “If you have ever been arrested, cautioned and/or convicted of an offence anywhere in the world, you are required to declare it when applying for a visa.
“In cases where an arrest resulted in a conviction, you may be permanently ineligible to receive a visa and will require a waiver ineligibility to travel to the United States.
“The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to United States visa law. Therefore, even if your arrest or conviction is considered spent, you are still require to declare it and furnish an ACRO Police Certificate when applying for a visa.”
At the start of this year, few would have tipped Maguire to force his way into the Three Lions’ squad this summer. However, after starting all of United’s matches under Michael Carrick, England manager Thomas Tuchel said Maguire, as well as his Red Devils’ colleagues, Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw, are in his thoughts going into the competition.
In February, Tuchel said: “It is great that [Mainoo] is back on the pitch. He is such a huge talent. He has played already a tournament from start to finish for England, so he is back in the picture, so is Luke Shaw and so is Harry [Maguire].
“There are some players suddenly back in the picture, they play a back four now and play with a different style which is a bit easier to translate to our structure at the moment. It’s good competition.”
Maguire has 64 international caps for England. He was a huge part of the squads which reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018, the final of Euro 2020 and the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
