Old Trafford legend Ryan Giggs is on trial accused of controlling behavior and assault
Giggs was back in court on Wednesday. © Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs, who is on trial accused of coercive and abusive behavior towards his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville and her sister, kept Greville “like a slave to his every demand,” Manchester Crown Court heard on Wednesday.
Former Wales manager Giggs, who is known for being one of Manchester United’s greatest ever players, is accused of a litany of abuses of Greville throughout their relationship including causing actual bodily harm to her, and the common assault of her younger sister Emma between August 2017 and November 2020. He denies the charges.
During a cross-examination, Greville said that Giggs “made me feel like I had to do what he said otherwise there were consequences” and added that the allegations she made to police were “100%” true.
She also rejected a claim that an allegation she made of assault against Giggs at a Dubai hotel in 2017 were a “pack of lies” after she said that Giggs dragged her naked out of a hotel room along with her belongings, while also injuring her arm.
Giggs is also said to have assaulted both Greville and her sister at his home in Greater Manchester on November 1 2020. It is alleged that he head-butted Greville on this occasion after she confronted him about him maintaining sexual relationships with several other women.
She added that Giggs attempted to assert control over several aspects of her life, and that he attempted to “interfere with my ability to interact with my family and elements of my social life.”
Giggs was “nice”, she said, in the initial stages of their relationship but his behavior became more aggressive after the moved in together during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“He was aggressive regularly,” she said in court. “It wasn’t constant violence. There wasn’t regular violence but there were times in our relationship when he was violent.”
While in tears in the witness box, she elaborated: “I couldn’t believe this person who could show me that [affection] could do this to me as well. I didn’t know who the real person was.
“I felt it was my fault he did those things to me… maybe I riled him up too much.”
Giggs appeared for Manchester United 963 times and was manager of Wales between January 2018 and November 2020. He temporarily stepped down in light of the allegations and later confirmed in June of this year that he would not be returning to the post.
Rob Page will instead take charge of Wales at this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
The trial continues.
