One of the Leicester City footballers arrested over false allegations of sexual assault in Spain spoke on Wednesday of the devastation he felt when he was first informed of the charges.

Paul Dickov, 31, heaped praise on his wife Jan as an "absolute star" in dealing with the ordeal which began while the players were on a training break in La Manga.

"I just could not believe it when actually being told of what the charge was," he told GMTV.

"I just kept saying to my solicitor, I just kept saying at the police station, it is not possible.

"It was devastating. It was probably the worst moment in my life."

Scottish international Dickov was locked in a Spanish jail along with team-mates Keith Gillespie and Frank Sinclair after they were accused of attacking three women.

They consistently pleaded their innocence and were finally cleared earlier this month after forensic tests found no link between the players and their accusers.

Dickov said there had been a "little spat" with one of the women after she called him a "little white boy" and he had commented on the "size of her backside".

Two days later, when they were out for a meal with the rest of the team, they received a phone call saying that they had to go to the police station the next morning because they were being accused of sexual charges.

Speaking in an interview at home with his wife Jan, with whom he has three children, Dickov said: "She has been absolutely fantastic from the very start.

"It must have been hard for Jan because it was a couple of days before she found out what actually happened.

"From that point of view, she has been an absolute star."

He added that it had been "just fantastic" stepping out on the pitch for Leicester for the first time after his return to the UK.

He said the players were not worried by the charges during their time in jail as they knew they were "just not possible" and a "pack of lies".

Mrs Dickov said the experience had strengthened their marriage.

"It makes you appreciate everything a bit more - how important your friends and family are, and you are as a couple and the whole family unit," she said.

"It is definitely one of those situations that you just never imagined is going to happen and you just all pull together."