Ryan Giggs has said he is “disappointed” to face a second trial next summer over allegations of assault and coercive behaviour against his former girlfriend.
The former Manchester United and Wales footballer will face a retrial from 31 July 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 (CPS) would seek a retrial in 11 months.
Wright told the judge that the case had been considered “at a senior level” by the CPS and that “we do seek a retrial in respect of Mr Giggs”.
Wright said the complainant, Giggs’s former partner Kate Greville, had also indicated that she was prepared to give evidence in a new trial.
The new trial is due to begin on 31 July, almost a year after the start of his first trial and more than two and a half years after Giggs was arrested on 1 November 2020.
The judge said Giggs would remain on bail and that he was “well aware” of its conditions. He was not required to attend court for a pre-trial hearing on 3 July 2023.
In a statement after the hearing, Giggs 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.”
He added: “I would like to thank my legal team, my mum, my children, my girlfriend Zara, as well as my closest friends, for their support throughout this period.
“I understand the level of interest and the scrutiny around this case, but I would like to ask that my and my family’s privacy is respected in the weeks and months ahead.”
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. He is alleged to have deliberately headbutted her during an argument at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on 1 November 2020.
Giggs faces a third charge related to the alleged assault of Greville’s younger sister Emma Greville, who claims the former 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.
