Ferguson prepares to fly home

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was tonight preparing to fly back to Britain after police investigating an alleged indecent assault said there was nothing to stop him leaving South Africa.

Police in Cape Town are investigating a complaint against Sir Alex from a woman following the alleged incident in a car at about 2am local time on Friday in the neighbourhood of Sea Point.

When approached by TV news crews in South Africa today, Sir Alex described the allegations as “ridiculous”.

His lawyers have appealed to the authorities to speed up his case, and were hopeful the matter could be resolved this weekend.

But police today said they had been unable to interview the woman who made the complaint and were still gathering witness statements to present to the Director of Public Prosecutions who would decide whether Sir Alex is charged.

Senior Superintendent Mary Martins-Engelbrecht said: “We are still trying to get hold of her (the complainant).

“We have an address and contact number but up until now we have been unsuccessful but have left messages for her to contact us.”

She added that officers were still trying to gather statements from possible witnesses to form a dossier to present to the DPP as soon as possible.

Following the submission to the DPP, it will be decided whether to press charges against Sir Alex, who strongly denies any wrongdoing.

Taswell Papier, appointed to represent Sir Alex this morning, said Sir Alex was “obviously perturbed at the result of these allegations” but was continuing his official duties in South Africa as normal.

Mr Papier said no travel restrictions had been placed on the 60-year-old Old Trafford boss, who is expected to leave South Africa in the next 24 hours.

Ms Martins-Engelbrecht confirmed that Sir Alex was free to leave the country at any time and if charges were eventually brought against him he would be summoned to return.

This morning Sir Alex opened a football academy at Pretoria University, where a crowd of around 500 had gathered to see him.

Abdul Hay Mayet, the organiser of the 500-strong South African Manchester United supporters’ club spoke to Sir Alex about the claims.

He said it was an honour to have Sir Alex visiting them and he had told him the allegations were absolute nonsense.

Describing the case, Ms Martins-Engelbrecht said: “A woman in her late 20s came to the Camps Bay police station saying she was indecently assaulted by what we call a high-profile businessman from Britain.

“The alleged incident occurred on the way from the Waterfront complex to Camps Bay. The docket (file) was referred to Sea Point police for investigation.

“We are currently gathering as much detail and information as possible and seeing how many statements we can get.”

She added: “We are treating it as an allegation until such time that there is substantial evidence making it more than that.”

Mr Papier said Sir Alex’s legal team had made representations to the DPP and would be asking the office to expedite consideration of those representations.

Sir Alex, who steered Manchester United to triumph in the Champions League in 1999 and has helped them secure a total of seven league titles, arrived in Cape Town on Wednesday.

According to reports in South Africa, he was looking at a possible link between the Premiership outfit and the Old Mutual Cape Town Football Academy.