Ex-Manchester United footballer John Cofie and his friend have been cleared of raping a woman after meeting her on a night out. Mr Cofie, who played for the Old Trafford club from the age of 14 until he was 21 - before playing abroad until the age of 26 - and his friend Nathan Stuart denied rape charges.
They visited several bars before the woman’s friend went home. The woman recalled having a cigarette outside one bar, but told jurors 'that was the last of what she really recalled' from the evening.Prosecutor Vanessa Thomson said: "She drank alcohol and as the night progressed, she was later to tell the police that memories of the evening disappeared.
Mr Cofie, from Sale, denied two counts of rape. Mr Stuart, from Northwich, Cheshire, three counts. Jurors took less than an hour to find them both not guilty of all offences. He told jurors the three of them had gone back to his house, the woman had begun kissing Mr Cofie and invited him to join them.