Former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs allegedly kicked his ex-girlfriend in the back and threw her out of a hotel bedroom while she was naked, a court has heard. The former Wales player, 47, is accused of controlling and coercive behaviour against Kate Greville, 36, between August 2017 and November 2020. Giggs appeared at Manchester crown court, where he entered a not guilty plea. He also denied a second count that he assaulted Greville and caused her actual bodily harm at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on 1 November last year. In addition, he pleaded not guilty to the common assault by beating of her youngster sister, Emma Greville, in the same alleged incident. Details of alleged controlling and coercive behaviour were read out by the clerk, which accuse him of “messaging her and/or blocking her when she was on nights out with others, or she asked about your relationship with others”, “threatening to send emails to her friends and her employers about your sexual relationship and behaviour” and “throwing her belongings out of your house when she questioned you about relationships with other women”. The other allegations involve “at the Stafford Hotel in London, kicking her in the back, and then throwing her out of the hotel bedroom naked, followed by throwing her bag at her when she accused you of flirting with other women” and “sending constant unwanted messages and making constant unwanted calls to her and her friends when she tried to break off the relationship”. Giggs, the co-owner of Salford football club, is also accused of regularly turning up unannounced and uninvited at his ex-partner’s home, workplace and gym after she tried to break off the relationship. Shortly after he was charged with the offences, Giggs issued a statement in which he denied all the allegations and said he would “look forward to clearing my name”. In a hearing lasting just over 30 minutes, the court also heard that the former couple were involved in a separate civil dispute over the ownership of a pet. Giggs will go on trial in the criminal proceedings at Manchester crown court on 24 January 2022. A further pre-trial hearing will take place at the same court on 8 October. Judge Hilary Manley extended Giggs’s bail on condition that he not contact Kate or Emma Greville, or go to any address where they are residing. Giggs is on leave from his position as manager of Wales, with Robert Page taking charge of the team since last year.