He is perhaps the greatest footballer Wales has ever produced. But now Ryan Giggs has to answer in court.
Welsh football idol Ryan Giggs has pleaded “innocent” at the start of his eagerly awaited trial, primarily for physically assaulting and abusing his former partner. The case before the Crown Criminal Court in Manchester against the ex-national coach is scheduled for two weeks, according to Judge Hilary Manley.
After his statement, the public prosecutor’s office accused the 48-year-old club icon of England’s record champions Manchester United of massive assaults against the alleged main victim and “continuing abuse” of the woman. If convicted, Giggs faces up to five years in prison.
Giggs was temporarily arrested in the fall of 2020
Giggs was heavily charged in the indictment. The former winger would have “performed a litany of abuse – physical and psychological – on a woman he pretended to love in a manipulative, toxic and destructive relationship spanning four years. The defendant’s behavior became increasingly obsessive and intended to erode her self-esteem.” , said prosecutor Peter Wright at the reading of the indictment.
The police temporarily arrested Giggs in autumn 2020 for alleged violent attacks against his then partner and her sister. The former star was later released on bail. At a court hearing last year, Giggs had already rejected all allegations against the two sisters and declared himself “innocent”.