Football: Manchester United great Ryan Giggs charged with assaulting women and 'coercive and controlling behaviour'

Former Manchester United player and current manager of the Wales football team, Ryan Giggs. Photo / Photosport

The Wales manager and Manchester United great Ryan Giggs has been charged with actual bodily harm, common assault and "coercive and controlling behaviour", and will not lead the national team at this summer's European championships.

Giggs, 47, will plead not guilty to the charges which relate to an incident at his home in Worsley, east Manchester, on Nov 1.

The Football Association of Wales will ask Robert Page, Giggs' assistant, who has lead the team since Giggs' arrest in November, to oversee the Euros campaign.

The FAW will await the conclusion of the legal case before making any long-term decisions over Giggs' future. His police bail was extended on Feb 26 as Greater Manchester Police considered the evidence.

A statement from GMP on that day said that "a 46-year-old man (now aged 47) arrested on suspicion of section 39 common assault and section 47 assault in November 2020". His bail was extended until May 1.

Giggs had been arrested following a row with his girlfriend of the time, Kate Greville.

A statement from the Greater Manchester Police read: "Ryan Giggs has been charged with causing actual bodily harm to a woman in her 30s and common assault of a woman in her 20s. Both counts relate to an incident on the evening of Sunday 1 November 2020.

"Giggs, of Chatsworth Road, Worsley, has also been charged with one count of coercive and controlling behaviour between December 2017 and November 2020.

"He has been bailed and is due to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday 28 April 2021."