A policewoman leaves the hotel yesterday
morning - it closed following the rape claim
Police have arrested a 19-year-old Manchester United player
after a woman claimed she was raped at the team's £4,000 a head
Christmas party. The 26-year-old dialled 999 from a hotel where
players including Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand took part in a
late-night drinking session.
The accused player, a young squad member who plays at international
level, was arrested on suspicion of rape after presenting himself
for questioning. He remains in custody and is said to strongly deny
any wrongdoing. Today the full horror of the party was revealed as
players were said to be out of control after a 13-hour drinking
session. Women at the party complained of being treated like
"pieces of meat in a cattle market atmosphere".
The rape allegation, which came hours after Fabio Capello was
unveiled as the new England manager, is another blow to the
tarnished reputation of football. Manchester United stars are said
to be "stunned" by the teenage player's arrest. The players had
reportedly paid £100,000 for Monday's party and invited around 100
girls back to the £395-a-night Manchester hotel.
The event is said to have been organised by Ferdinand who is
reported to have held a whip round to which 25 players gave £4,000
each. Wives and girlfriends were not invited. The alleged victim
was there with her boyfriend. The venue, Great St John Street
Hotel, which overlooks the Coronation Street set, was closed
yesterday as police removed potential evidence.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was not present,
is said to have reluctantly approved the day-long celebrations but
ordered his team to be on their best behaviour. A total of 35
players, including many multi-million pound stars, began the day
with lunch at the Manchester235 casino complex where they were
entertained by drag queens and dancers.
They arrived by team coach and were photographed walking to the
venue, dressed in smart shirts, jeans and jackets. They ate a
£19.50 Christmas menu of home-cured salmon, roast turkey with
apricot and pistachio stuffing and baked white cheesecake. After
three hours, stars such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville
and Owen Hargreaves, accompanied by junior squad members, headed to
Coronation Street star Liz Dawn's pub The Old Grapes for more
drinking.
Later a group including Rooney and Ferdinand drove to a lapdancing
club but left without going inside after seeing photographers
outside. For the night they had booked out the 30-suite Great St
John Street Hotel - a converted Victorian school featured in top
hotel guides - where they continued partying into the early
hours.
One female guest described the party as "a horrendous cattle
market" She said: "I like the United players but they were out of
control. They were treating girls like pieces of meat. "We got
special invites but if we ever get asked again there's no way we
would go again." Another said: "A lot of the players were really
letting their hair down. Waitresses were handing out pink champagne
to whoever wanted it. "The players seemed to be drinking beer,
vodka and whisky. Lots of drink was flowing and there were a lot of
the girls there simply trying to bag a footballer for the night. It
was all very sleazy. "Rooney and Rio spent most of the night on the
dance floor - but Giggs stole the show when he did an Elvis Presley
impersonation."
The accused player was last night facing the prospect of a police
investigation as detectives prepared to take a statement from the
alleged victim. Following the phone call to police she was taken to
a specialist sexual assault referral centre at St Mary's Hospital,
where staff trained in counselling examined her and preserved any
evidence that could be used in a future prosecution.
A police insider said: "She was at the party with her boyfriend but
got really drunk and at some point disappeared off with [the
player]. When she came back he asked where she'd been, and she
claimed she'd been raped."
Manchester United refused to comment yesterday, and the hotel
management would only say they were helping police with their
inquiries.
Police said later that a 19-year-old man had been arrested in
connection with the case. It is the latest in a series of sex
assault claims against Premiership footballers. Most of the cases
have ended without a prosecution.
Two years ago Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo was arrested
over claims that he raped a woman at a London hotel. The Portuguese
star, who was not at Monday's party, was not charged. Arsenal's
Dutch striker Robin van Persie was held for two days accused of
raping a beauty queen in Rotterdam in 2005, although the case was
later thrown out. The year before that, Leicester City's Paul
Dickov, Keith Gillespie and Frank Sinclair were accused of
assaulting three women during a training trip to the La Manga
complex in Spain.
All charges were dropped. And in 2003, Titus Bramble, then of
Newcastle United, and Chelsea's Carlton Cole were arrested over an
alleged gang rape on a 17-year-old former convent schoolgirl at a
London hotel, but no charges were brought.
