The jury has been discharged in the trial of former footballer Ryan Giggs after failing to reach a verdict.
The ex-Manchester United star was accused of controlling or coercive behaviour against his ex-girlfriend Kate Greville, 38, during their relationship.
Ryan, 48, had also been charged with assaulting Ms Greville, after he allegedly headbutted her at his home in Worsley, and also assaulting her younger sister Emma, after allegedly elbowing her in the jaw.
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Giggs had denied the allegations made against him.
During the trial, at Manchester Crown Court, Ryan Giggs' barrister Chris Daw QC had described Kate Greville as a "scorned" woman who was upset over his serial cheating over the course of their six-year relationship.
He argued that the PR executive's struggles over Ryan's infidelity led to her falsely characterising Giggs as a physically and psychologically abusive boyfriend.
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The former Wales manager's defence team also noted that the alleged headbutt of Kate was “utterly incredible” and had rather been an accidental clash of heads or faces.
Speaking in court, Giggs himself admitted that he had been unfaithful in all of his relationships, and his reputation as a "love cheat" was justified, but insisted that he had never physically assaulted a woman or set out to control and coerce anyone.
However, prosecutors claimed that there were "two very different Ryan Giggses” - the one in the public eye and the one behind closed doors.
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Peter Wright QC claimed that Giggs “thinks, or thought, he could do whatever he liked in respect of his treatment of Ms Greville and that he could get away with it”.
He said the “sad history” of the relationship revealed his “excesses were endured by her, excused and kept private”.
He went on to allege that Giggs lost self-control and attacked Ms Greville on the night of 1 November, 2020, praising his client's "courage" for taking a stand and exposing her ex-boyfriend for who he was "behind the mask".
Before sending off the jury of seven women and five women to deliberate on Tuesday (23 August), Judge Hilary Manley urged them to “put aside emotions".
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She added: "Continue to approach the case with a cool head and go where the evidence leads you.”
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She asked them to consider if the relationship “veered off the rails” due to Ms Greville’s inability to accept Giggs’s serial womanising, with her getting “her revenge by twisting and exaggerating their routine arguments”.
Or, she asked, was the relationship “much more sinister and darker”, involving a man exerting his power over an emotionally vulnerable woman, eventually leading to a loss of self-control.
Topics: News
Ali Condon