Premier league Leicester City said yesterday their players, arrested after an alleged sexual assault in Spain, have vigorously protested their innocence.
Nine players were arrested and gave evidence to a judge at a court in the south-eastern city of Cartagena on Thursday after three women made an allegation of sexual assault.
Three of the players, German midfielder Steffen Freund, Greek defender Nikos Dabizas and goalkeeper Danny Coyne, were later released.
The remaining six are Scottish internationals Matt Elliott and Paul Dickov, Jamaican midfielder Frank Sinclair, England Under-21 player James Scowcroft, French midfielder Lilian Nalis and Northern Ireland winger Keith Gillespie.
Leicester's executive director Paul Mace told a news conference that the club viewed the incidents "with utmost seriousness" and would undertake its own probe which would not conflict with Spanish authorities' investigations.
"We realize it is damaging to us ... quite obviously something has gone seriously wrong out there," Mace told a news conference in Leicester.
"We have been in regular contact with the players over the past 48 hours and the players wish me to stress that they protest their innocence most strongly and vigorously on all counts of criminal charges and accusations."
Four players -- in Spain for a training camp in La Manga -- were accused of sexual assault and illegal entry, one of assault and illegal entry and three of illegal entry and failure to provide assistance.
The remaining six players appeared in a Spanish court yesterday after spending the night in police cells.
Mace declined to discuss details of the incidents.
"We have every confidence in the Spanish judicial system that justice will be done. We put our faith in that.
"I have not come here today to mount some kind of a whitewash. There are always two sides, there are always more facts to come out."
He added: "It is obviously a regrettable episode for Leicester City and possibly football in general. It is a cause for serious concern."
In recent months English soccer has been hit by a series of lurid allegations about the conduct of young players, many earning more than ?20,000 (US$36,460) or more a week.
"There is an onus of responsibility on professional footballers to conduct themselves in the best possible light at all times. They are ambassadors, role models for many, many people," Mace said.
"Some of our fans are very concerned about recent events, equally some are very supportive."
Manager Micky Adams and his coaching retained the full support of directors, he said.
Adams and the players were in La Manga to prepare for the closing stages of the season as they battle against relegation from the lucrative premier league.
"We want to get our players back to Leicester as quickly as we possibly can," Mace added.
The alleged incidents come four years after another Leicester training camp in La Manga ended with the club being sent home in disgrace after striker Stan Collymore let off a fire extinguisher.
Leicester have cleared their manager Micky Adams of any blame in the sex attack scandal.
Adams is reported to be "distraught" at events in La Manga as what was intended to be a warm weather training camp turned into a nightmare.
Newspapers said he had told his players to behave when they flew out to Spain.
"There is inevitably considerable pressure being exerted on everyone involved with the football club and it is something that each and every one has to deal with," Mace said.
"It is not about individual personalities, we are all in it together. Micky Adams has the full backing of the board of directors and everyone at this football club."
Taiwan’s Lee Hao-yu on Friday went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the 19th Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues. The Tigers ultimately lost 1-0 in 10 innings, ending their six-game winning streak. The 23-year-old started at third base and batted eighth for Detroit. He was promoted from Triple-A Toledo ahead of the four-game series against the Red Sox at the latter’s home stadium, replacing injured utility player Zach McKinstry. “Being right-handed, and given our schedule, I think six of the next 12 games are going to
Matheus Cunha on Saturday fired Manchester United toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defense ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins. United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons, but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under interim manager
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
Italian soccer is at its lowest ebb in nearly 40 years after a wholesale European exodus at club level followed the nation’s failure for the third successive time to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and compounded a leadership and structural crisis. The exits suffered by Bologna and ACF Fiorentina on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League respectively meant no Italian teams are left in European competition this season. Italy’s last remaining UEFA Champions League contenders, Atalanta BC, went out in the round of 16 last month. It is the first time since the 1986-1987 campaign that Italian clubs
RSS