The jury in Ryan Giggs’ trial was dismissed on Wednesday after failing to reach a verdict over domestic violence against the former Manchester United star.
Giggs, 48, had been in court for four weeks, but after more than 20 hours of deliberation, the Crown Court jury of seven women and four men reached no verdict.
Giggs may face a retrial. He had been charged with assault and using coercive measures against an ex-girlfriend. He had denied all allegations.
Prosecutors alleged that Giggs assaulted and actually caused bodily harm to Kate Greville at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, in November 2020.
He was also charged with mutually assaulting Greville’s younger sister during the same incident, and controlling and coercing behavior towards his former girlfriend between August 2017 and November 2020.
During the trial, Giggs had said it was fair that he had a reputation for infidelity, but added that he “never” physically assaulted a woman.
On Tuesday, Judge Hilary Manley told the jury she would accept a majority verdict, which 10 of the 11-member jury agree with. The 12th juror had been sent home due to illness.
When asked on Tuesday, the jury announced that after more than 16 hours of deliberation, it had not come to a unanimous verdict.
In his 23-year playing career at Manchester United, Giggs won 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League titles and made 963 appearances.
He resigned as manager of the Wales national team in June, saying he did not want to jeopardize preparations for the World Cup in Qatar later this year. He has been on leave since November.