Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has claimed he was "scared for his life" during his arrest in Greece last week.
England defender Maguire, along with two other defendants, was found guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and repeated attempts of bribery at a misdemeanours court in Syros on Tuesday following an incident involving police on the island of Mykonos.
The 27-year-old, who has denied all charges against him, was given a suspended prison sentence, though he will be appealing the conviction, which, in accordance with Greek law, has therefore been nullified and a full retrial in a more senior court will now take place.
On Thursday, Maguire spoke publicly for the first time since his arrest in an interview to BBC News.
He reaffirmed his innocence and discussed his arrest, claiming plain-clothed police officers attacked him and his group.
"My initial thought was I thought we were getting kidnapped. We got down on our knees, we put our hands in the air," Maguire said.
"They just started hitting us, they were hitting our legs, saying, 'My career's over. No more football. You won't play again'.
"At this point I thought there was no chance these were police. I don't know who they are, so I tried to run away. I was in that much of a panic, fear, scared for my life - all the way through it."
