imported_7aint9
09-30-2003, 06:57 PM
Don't know about the legality of this but did anyone catch on that website which alleged Premiership footballers were named?
I'M NO RAPIST SAYS ENGLAND FOOTBALL STAR
Sep 30 2003
EXCLUSIVE by JEREMY ARMSTRONG and JEFF EDWARDS
AN England footballer under investigation after an alleged rape told his club yesterday: I had nothing to do with it.
The star, one of eight players said to be involved, said he was not even at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, Central London, on the night a 17-year-old girl claims she was attacked.
Two of the star's Premiership teammates are also under investigation.
The girl made a complaint to police after agreeing to sex with a footballer from a different team to the three Premiership players.
She told detectives she had not wanted other men "joining in". In addition to one claim of rape, she is understood to have made several allegations of sexual assault.
The three Premiership stars and five others from different clubs had met in a London nightspot for post-match drinks.
They then went to the five-star Grosvenor House, where a room was allegedly booked on a credit card in the England international's name.
The player - who cannot be named for legal reasons - is understood to have met club chiefs for two hours after training yesterday and strenuously denied any involvement in the incident. He also denies staying at the hotel on the night in question. When asked about the allegations as he arrived at his £400,000 home, he said to reporters: "Nice one."
One of his two team-mates being investigated also gave his version of events to club bosses. The third player asked his lawyer to contact police on his behalf.
Sources at the club said the manager was "incensed and bewildered" at the affair.
The club chairman was said to have "hit the roof" because he had not been made aware of the allegations.
A source said: "He turned up at the training ground an hour before the players, which he never does, and held emergency talks with the manager. Then he went back to the club. The biggest star involved was called in for a meeting at the ground, which went on for a couple of hours."
Of the five other players who are being investigated, at least one is understood to be from a lower division club.
Police forensic experts were searching a third floor bedroom and bathroom at the Grosvenor House yesterday.
The room and the corridor outside were sealed off. Two large evidence bags were propped outside the doorway.
Guests in adjacent rooms were allowed to pass only with a police escort.
CCTV footage from the hours before the alleged early morning attack was being checked to see if players were filmed going into the hotel. The Grosvenor House is equipped with dozens of security cameras at its exits, the main entrance and along corridors.
A spokesman for the hotel chain said: "We have been asked to make no comment."
All inquiries were directed to Scotland Yard.
A Yard spokesman said: "Inquiries are ongoing into allegations of rape by a 17-year-old woman.
"The allegation was made in person by the woman at a central London police station. We are still at an early stage in this inquiry."
The teenager was being questioned by the Met's specialist Sapphire unit.
Four of the players - including the star at the centre of the inquiry - were named on a British internet website yesterday.
I'M NO RAPIST SAYS ENGLAND FOOTBALL STAR
Sep 30 2003
EXCLUSIVE by JEREMY ARMSTRONG and JEFF EDWARDS
AN England footballer under investigation after an alleged rape told his club yesterday: I had nothing to do with it.
The star, one of eight players said to be involved, said he was not even at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, Central London, on the night a 17-year-old girl claims she was attacked.
Two of the star's Premiership teammates are also under investigation.
The girl made a complaint to police after agreeing to sex with a footballer from a different team to the three Premiership players.
She told detectives she had not wanted other men "joining in". In addition to one claim of rape, she is understood to have made several allegations of sexual assault.
The three Premiership stars and five others from different clubs had met in a London nightspot for post-match drinks.
They then went to the five-star Grosvenor House, where a room was allegedly booked on a credit card in the England international's name.
The player - who cannot be named for legal reasons - is understood to have met club chiefs for two hours after training yesterday and strenuously denied any involvement in the incident. He also denies staying at the hotel on the night in question. When asked about the allegations as he arrived at his £400,000 home, he said to reporters: "Nice one."
One of his two team-mates being investigated also gave his version of events to club bosses. The third player asked his lawyer to contact police on his behalf.
Sources at the club said the manager was "incensed and bewildered" at the affair.
The club chairman was said to have "hit the roof" because he had not been made aware of the allegations.
A source said: "He turned up at the training ground an hour before the players, which he never does, and held emergency talks with the manager. Then he went back to the club. The biggest star involved was called in for a meeting at the ground, which went on for a couple of hours."
Of the five other players who are being investigated, at least one is understood to be from a lower division club.
Police forensic experts were searching a third floor bedroom and bathroom at the Grosvenor House yesterday.
The room and the corridor outside were sealed off. Two large evidence bags were propped outside the doorway.
Guests in adjacent rooms were allowed to pass only with a police escort.
CCTV footage from the hours before the alleged early morning attack was being checked to see if players were filmed going into the hotel. The Grosvenor House is equipped with dozens of security cameras at its exits, the main entrance and along corridors.
A spokesman for the hotel chain said: "We have been asked to make no comment."
All inquiries were directed to Scotland Yard.
A Yard spokesman said: "Inquiries are ongoing into allegations of rape by a 17-year-old woman.
"The allegation was made in person by the woman at a central London police station. We are still at an early stage in this inquiry."
The teenager was being questioned by the Met's specialist Sapphire unit.
Four of the players - including the star at the centre of the inquiry - were named on a British internet website yesterday.