Two Premier League players have been arrested on suspicion of assault and rape outside the club’s stadium in a police raid.
One of the footballers, aged 19, was questioned on suspicion of assault and aiding and abetting (encourage or assist) a rape.
Sources indicate that he was permitted to leave the stadium following a brief interview before being formally taken into custody.
The player spent the night in police custody and was subsequently interrogated by investigators while under caution.
His teammate, also 19, was arrested the next day and interrogated on suspicion of rape. Authorities have confirmed that the players were released on bail last night as further investigations are carried out.
The alleged rape is reported to have took place on Friday evening. The purported victim contacted law enforcement officers hours later and lodged a formal complaint.
BREAKING 🚨: Premier League stars arrested on suspicion of assault and rape outside club’s stadium in police raid
Read more: https://t.co/mvu70AncZV pic.twitter.com/SWhM5n9Gtd
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) April 23, 2024
A police spokesperson said: “Officers have arrested two men following a report of a rape.
“A 19 year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and aiding and abetting a rape.
“A second 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of rape.
“Both men have since been released on police bail.”
One source told The Sun: “One of the players was at the club’s stadium.
“The police arrived wanting to speak to him.
“He was taken to a private room within the ground and was spoken to by police.
“The player left the club with another individual and was formally arrested by police later that night.”
Club insiders say that talks had already begun over the “next steps”, although it is unclear as to whether they have been suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation.
A club spokesman meanwhile said: “As the matter is now in the hands of the police, the Football Club will not be making further comment at this stage.”
On Wednesday morning, Wolves issued a statement denying their players are the two Premier League stars arrested in rape probe.
‘A newspaper article published yesterday has triggered inappropriate online speculation over the identities of two individuals reportedly under investigation,’ the statement read.
‘Whilst we would not typically comment on ongoing police matters, in order to protect the welfare of our young players, we feel it is necessary to confirm that the allegations do not relate to anyone at Wolves.’
— Wolves (@Wolves) April 24, 2024
For the last two years, Premier League and EFL footballers have been receiving sexual consent training amid the latest allegations against players in recent times.
New rules for the face-to-face training have been put in place this season to all players as a result of pressure on the league and the Football Association to act.
Until now, the Premier League had only decided to run workshops for academy and first-team players from under-14s to under-23s.
Content included sexual relationships, seeking consent, and understanding sexual harassment and bullying.
However, such training was not compulsory for all senior professionals, and this reportedly sparked criticism and there are no demands for a widespread reform.
Clubs failing to introduce the new training, to be delivered by safeguarding professionals, will face disciplinary action, reports The Telegraph.
Exclusive: All Premier League players to receive mandatory sexual consent training | @ben_rumsby https://t.co/DlSabgpv0M
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) August 3, 2022
Plans for similar rules in the EFL are under consideration, but to date there has been no move to suspend players arrested on suspicion of rape.
The new rules were put in place after a meeting back in June between the Premier League and campaign groups End Violence for Women, the Three Hijabis and Level Up.
They wrote an open letter to Richard Masters, the league’s chief executive, and Mark Bullingham, his FA counterpart, calling on them “to confront a culture of gender-based violence”.
Shaista Aziz, co-director of the Three Hijabis, said that the FA is ultimately responsible for acting on accusations of sexual offences committed within English football but had yet to engage with the group on the subject.
She said: “We’re pleased to see the Premier League has adopted the action plan we sent in our open letter to them and the FA.
“This is an important first and long overdue step in the right direction. However, we need greater transparency on how this new guidance will be implemented.
“Any programme to tackle gender-based violence must be delivered by Violence Against Women and Girls specialists if it’s to be a meaningful change.
“We’ve had productive meetings with the Premier League on these issues and look forward to meeting again.
“The FA, in contrast, continues to be opaque, out of step, and dismissive in its behaviours towards us. We call on the FA to urgently engage with tackling gender-based violence across football.
Aziz said the new rules had not met all her group’s demands, which include automatic suspensions for any players arrested on suspicion of rape.
She added: “It is inconsistent and inconceivable that, in 2022, you can have a high-profile footballer accused of these very serious crimes and his employer says: ‘It’s OK, he can carry on going to work.’ It’s outrageous.
“The FA can’t just use this moment as another PR and marketing exercise, and spin and gloss, for their attempts to tell us that they’re inclusive. We know they’re not inclusive.”
She went on to claim that she believes the organisation fails to engage with campaign groups who could help “really move things forward”.
An FA spokesman said: “The FA strongly condemns violence and prejudice of any kind, including misogyny, and encourages anyone who has been the subject of, or witness to, this type of behaviour to report it to the Police and the relevant authorities.
“The FA will take the allegations extremely seriously and will take action within its jurisdiction. Any such case would be investigated once any criminal or statutory investigation is concluded.”
The chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Maheta Molango, has also urged for more action to educate players on sexual consent.
‘More needs to be done in terms of the education of the player – sexual consent, what is acceptable, what is not acceptable, and making sure that this is part of their mandatory education,’ he said.
WHAT IS SEXUAL CONSENT?
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 says that someone consents to sexual activity if they:
- Agree by choice and
- Have both the freedom and capacity to make that choice.
If someone says ‘no’ to any kind of sexual activity, they are not agreeing to it.
But, if someone doesn’t say ‘no’ out loud, that doesn’t automatically mean that they have agreed to it either.
Someone doesn’t have the freedom and capacity to agree to sexual activity by choice if:
- They are asleep or unconscious.
- They are drunk or ‘on’ drugs.
- They have been ‘spiked’.
- They are too young.
- They have a mental health disorder or illness that means they are unable to make a choice.
- They are being pressured, bullied, manipulated, tricked or scared into saying ‘yes’.
- The other person is using physical force against them.
If someone’s not sure whether you are giving your consent for something sexual, they should check with you. If they can see or suspect you’re not 100% comfortable or happy with what’s happening between you, they should stop.
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