Former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs has expressed disappointment after learning he is due to face a second trial for alleged assault and coercive behavior next summer.
In a statement after the hearing ended, he said: “After more than three weeks in court I am obviously disappointed that a retrial has been ordered.”
“My not-guilty plea remains in relation to all charges. I am confident that justice will eventually be done and my name will be cleared of all the allegations,” Mr. Giggs added.
The former Wales manager said he understood the interest and scrutiny level around the case but hoped his family’s privacy would be respected in the coming months.
Mr. Giggs has been charged with an alleged assault and coercive behavior against his girlfriend, Kate Greville.
The 48-year-old athlete is set to face a new trial on July 31 next year, as the jury couldn’t reach a verdict last week.
By 2023, when Mr. Giggs faces the jury again in Manchester crown court again, he will have been on bail for more than two and a half years.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Peter QC Wright confirmed that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) would seek a “retrial in respect of Mr. Giggs” in 11 months after considering the case “at a senior level.”
The footballer was not in court when the prosecutor reported the decision to CPS. However, the judge said he was “well aware” that he would remain free on bail and was not required to attend a pre-trial hearing set to be held on July 3, 2023.
Mr. Wring also told a CPS judge that Kate Greville, complainant and former partner of Mr. Giggs, had said she was ready and willing to testify in a new trial.
The Manchester United star and English game’s most decorated footballer has been charged with allegedly assaulting and causing bodily harm to Ms. Greville. The 38-year-old alleged that she had been head-butted by her then-boyfriend during an argument in November 2020.
Mr. Giggs also faces a third charge for allegedly elbowing his ex-girlfriend’s younger sister, Emma Greville, in the face during the same argument.
The former footballer has denied all charges. His lawyer Chris Daw QC said the allegations had been based on “distortion, exaggeration and lies.”
