Leeds United midfielder Jody Morris was rearrested and charged with raping a 20-year-old woman, police said on Tuesday.
A Leeds spokesperson confirmed his arrest by West Yorkshire police in connection with the October 7 incident and the police said later that he and a 26-year-old man from London, whose identity has not been released, had been charged with rape. They are being held in custody and will appear before Leeds Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Another Leeds player, 20-year-old Jermaine Pennant, who is on loan from Arsenal, was also arrested in connection with the incident. Police said he was released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Morris (24) has been under investigation for two alleged sexual assaults. The other took place on October 22.
The midfielder, who moved to Leeds this summer from Chelsea, was suspended on October 9 by the club for two weeks in connection with the alleged sexual assault on a 20-year-old woman.
On October 22, he was released on bail in connection with a second allegation of sexual assault. Two days later the club announced he was taking a 10-day leave of absence.
He returned to practise with the club on November 4.
Morris has faced charges before relating to violence and has been fined by his club for drunken behaviour.
He and former Chelsea teammate John Terry were charged with assaulting a nightclub bouncer outside a London club in January 2002. They were both cleared by a jury seven months later.
Morris was among four Chelsea players reprimanded and fined after engaging in drunken and disorderly behaviour at a hotel near Heathrow airport on the day of the September 11 2001 attacks in the United States.
The hotel was full of stranded American passengers.
The case against Morris is the second rape investigation alleged to have involved Premier League stars this season.
In a totally unconnected case, a 17-year-old girl has alleged she was gang-raped in a five-star London hotel by seven men, including several she recognised as soccer stars, on September 27. Four men have been arrested and interviewed by police although no identities have been released. — Sapa-AP