Rape case footballers on way home

Three Barclaycard Premiership footballers were returning to Britain today after being bailed over serious sex assault charges.

Leicester City players Paul Dickov, Frank Sinclair and Keith Gillespie have been accused of attacking three women at a hotel in southern Spain. They deny the allegations.

Club chief executive Tim Davies confirmed, after legal proceedings late last night, that the players would not be spending another night in prison.

After the court hearing, the players were taken in a Guardia Civil van back to Sangonera prison to complete paperwork for their release.

Mr Davies said: “The players are delighted they are able to return to England after what has been a very traumatic time for them.

“They are in good health and are looking forward to being reunited with their families as soon as possible.”

He added: “They maintain their total innocence of all outstanding charges and also to express their confidence in the Spanish legal system and that justice will be done.”

Mr Davies added that they would be returning to Britain today.

Bail was set at €288,000 for all three players.

Reacting to the decision, the women’s lawyer, Encarnacion Gomez, said: “It does not seem good, but we respect the decision of the judge. It leaves us a bit perplexed because of the nature of the crime and I have doubts about whether they have let them out because they are famous people.”

In a marathon day of legal proceedings, one of the women had been unable to testify yesterday evening due to poor health.

The lawyer said she was very weak and had “practically not eaten”.

Earlier one of the footballers, who has not been identified, came face-to-face with one of their accusers in the court room, a member of the defence team said.

He took part in a “careo”, or face-to-face meeting, before a judge in order to form an impression of who was telling the truth.

The players had arrived at the courtroom in Cartagena after spending a sixth night in jail, near Murcia.

The judge spent the day taking statements from a number of witnesses thought to include hotel staff and guests and taxi drivers.

One of the witnesses seen by the judge was Leicester City player Steffen Freund, who was last week one of the nine arrested in Spain but later released free of all charges.

Freund was driven away from the court after giving evidence.

At the Leicester City ground, the team’s manager Micky Adams said he was not concerned with the length of time it took for the judge to make his decision on the players’ release but believed he would reach the right verdict.

Three women allege they were assaulted in the exclusive Hyatt Regency Hotel in La Manga, where Leicester City had been on a training break on a mid-season break.

Adams added: “This could have a damaging effect not only on our Premiership future but also on the future of the football club.

“It is not English football’s problem – it is Leicester City’s problem at the moment.”

The breakdown for the bail was given by a court official as €120,000 for Paul Dickov and €60,000 for the other two players. There was also a fee of €48,000 known as a civil responsibility fee, which would be held in a bank account for any possible future compensation for the alleged victims.

The money would be paid out in the event of a future verdict against the players.

This sum was understood to break down into €18,000 for Dickov and €15,000 each for the other two players.