SOCCER 'RAPE' ROW: Players warmed up as DJ played Addicted To Love

THEY ran out in a devilish all-black strip to a chorus of boos and whistles. "Ladies and gentlemen," yelled the stadium announcer. "The time has arrived."

Yesterday was the moment of truth for the footballers of Leicester City when they came out of exile for their first appearance since the scandal in Spain.

It wasn't exactly a low-profile event. They were face-to-face with Birmingham City in a Midlands derby which would have been red- blooded at the best of times.

Events in Spain gave it an extra edge. A heavy police presence was evident three hours before kick-off. A helicopter circled around St Andrew's and visiting fans' coaches were escorted by police vans.

Earlier there had been a clash between rival fans in a city centre bar and the Birmingham City fanzine had shown pictures of the three accused, Dickov, Sinclair and Gillespie under the headline "W*****s... Stupid footballers leave a nasty taste".

Perhaps it was equally tasteless when the stadium DJ chose to play Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love - with its chorus of "Gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love" - as the players warmed up.

But the Leicester fans were out in force to support their club in one of its darkest hours. Bev Groom, proudly wearing a shirt emblazoned with Dickov's name, said: "These last seven days have aged me 10 years," she said. "But they are innocent until proved guilty."

Birmingham fans were frisked for home-made banners and slogans that might have inflamed the crowd. But they couldn't inspect voices - and the first Leicester move of any note was met with a chorus of "Innocent? You're having a laugh".

It was a day when trepidation and relief went hand in hand as they put themselves through their pre-match warm up, you could sense that the Leicester players were happy to be in action at last.

Before the kick off, the crowd observed an immaculate minute's silence for those who died in Madrid - putting those other events in Spain into sharp perspective.

The three players at the centre of the allegations - Frank Sinclair, Keith Gillespie and Paul Dickov - weren't playing.

In the words of manager Micky Adams: "What is best for them now is that they have a quiet weekend with their families."

Dickov, was cheered to the echo in his absence. "Dickov's come home," the Leicester supporters chanted. To which the Birmingham fans replied at ear-splitting volume "Dickov's going down".

Steffen Freund, who was cleared of all charges but has now admitted that he had sex with one of the women involved, was booed whenever he touched the ball. Nikos Dabizas was also on from the start while Matt Elliott and Danny Coyne - also quizzed over the alleged incident - were substitutes.

For manager Adams the game was a personal ordeal. He chose to sit on the side of the pitch in the dug-out, right in the firing line. As he said: "There is no hiding place for me."

And he has not tried to shift the blame. "This is Leicester City's problem", he said, "and we are doing our best to deal with it."

For Leicester fans it has been a dreadful week, but ended on a high with a one-nil win.

Les Ferdinand scored the only goal in the second half. Afterwards players hugged each other and applauded their travelling fans.

But the Leicester boss was singled out for particular praise. "One Micky Adams...one Micky Adams," came the chant from the crowd.

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