Six Leicester City footballers appeared in court today following allegations of sexual assault on three women in the Spanish resort of La Manga.
Matt Elliott, Keith Gillespie, Lilian Nalis, Paul Dickov, Frank Sinclair and James Scowcroft were kept in custody overnight following a day-long court hearing yesterday in nearby Cartagena.
The club said it was treating the situation with "the utmost seriousness" and would be launching its own internal investigation.
"We have spoken with our players and they wish to make it clear that they will vigorously contest all charges and allegations made against them," a club statement said. "Our immediate next step is to bring home all our players as soon as is practically possible."
Two other players - Nikos Dabizas and Danny Coyne - were "provisionally released" following yesterday's hearing and were driven away in the back of an estate car, hiding beneath coats from the media scrum gathered outside the court.
A ninth player, Steffan Freund, who had also been arrested in relation to the allegations, had earlier been released from the court without charge.
The club said the provisional release of Dabizas and Coyne meant that neither of them would face the original allegations made against them.
Club manager Micky Adams said he was "devastated" by the allegations. None of the six in custody has yet been charged.