Richards arrest deepens City problems

Micah Richards, the Manchester City and England defender, has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a teenager outside a nightclub, police said Thursday.

Richards, 20, was interviewed on Wednesday by officers investigating an incident in which an 18-year-old male was assaulted in the Manchester suburb of Hale in the early hours of December 24.

Richards was bailed until April 8 pending the completion of inquiries which will allow the police to decide whether he should face any charges.

The defender’s arrest adds to a growing list of off-field headaches faced by City manager Mark Hughes.

The club’s star player, Brazilian international Robinho, was arrested and bailed last month in connection with allegations of a serious sexual assault on a teenage university student in a Leeds nightclub. Robinho, 25, denies any wrongdoing.

Hughes had to fine Robinho last month for walking out on a club training camp in Tenerife and making an unauthorised trip to Brazil and the manager’s relationship with another Brazilian, Elano, has been strained by the midfielder’s public criticism of him.

The City boss has also had to contend with reports that one of his most promising young players, Michael Johnson, has become a regular at casinos in the city, which the 21-year-old denies.

Another headache for Hughes is the possibility that winger Shaun Wright-Phillips could be banned for three matches after he was charged with violent conduct for kicking out in retaliation at Rory Delap in Saturday’s defeat at Stoke.

Delap was sent off for his initial foul but the referee failed to spot Wright-Phillips’ petulant reaction.

Hughes accepts Wright-Phillips made a mistake but feels the retaliation was nowhere near as serious as Delap’s initial tackle.

“By the letter of the law, Shaun retaliated,” said Hughes. “But he had twice been kicked from behind. I don’t think what Shaun did in response was violent conduct.

“It was a human reaction and I feel a three-game ban would be unfair.”

City had until Thursday evening to appeal against the charge with the FA set to rule on Friday on whether to impose the ban.