Ryan Giggs is to go on trial for a second time accused of assaulting his former girlfriend after three years of allegedly coercive and controlling behaviour.
The former Manchester United and Wales footballer will face a retrial from July 31st, 2023, after jurors in his first trial were unable to reach verdicts last week.
Giggs, 48, will have been on bail for more than two and a half years by the time he next faces a jury at Manchester crown court.
He was not present at court on Wednesday as the prosecutor, Peter Wright QC, confirmed that the Crown Prosecution Service would seek a retrial in 10 months.
The former Wales manager is charged with using coercive and controlling behaviour against his then-girlfriend, Kate Greville, between August 2017 and November 2020.
He is also charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Greville, 38, when he is alleged to have deliberately headbutted her during an argument at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on November 1st, 2020.
Giggs faces a third charge related to the alleged assault of Greville’s younger sister, Emma Greville, who claims the ex-footballer elbowed her in the face during the same argument.
Giggs denied all three charges. His barrister, Chris Daw QC, told his first trial last month that they were based on “distortion, exaggeration and lies” and that Giggs had never used violence against a woman, or sought to restrict Greville’s social life, holidays or career.
Giggs, the most decorated footballer in the English game, had described the night of his arrest as “the worst experience of my life”.
The jury of seven women and five men heard the prosecution allege that Giggs and Greville had a “toxic” relationship and broke up several times during their six years together.
Daw compared them to “squabbling children, or teenagers at best” – but the ex-footballer maintained his behaviour was never coercive or controlling. He said the allegations were those of a “scorned” woman who was “furious” about his inability to remain faithful to her. - Guardian