Soccer: Chelsea players cleared of rape charges

Two English premiership soccer players have been cleared of rape charges, the Sun newspaper said yesterday.

Chelsea striker Carlton Cole and Newcastle defender Titus Bramble had been accused of raping a 17-year-old in a London hotel last September, but legal sources told the Sun the case had collapsed because police admitted they could not disprove the players' arguments the girl had consented to sex.

The police were called in when the girl claimed she was gang-raped by soccer players.