JODY Morris, the Leeds United footballer, was suspended by the club yesterday after being questioned by police over an alleged serious sexual assault.

Morris, 24, was arrested on Tuesday at the team's Thorp Arch training ground and was held overnight by police investigating allegations of a serious sexual assault on a 20-year-old woman in the Leeds area.

The club said in a statement: ''Leeds United have had a meeting with Jody Morris and his solicitor this morning. In accordance with the standard provisions of the player's contract of employment, he has been suspended for up to 14 days to enable the club to conduct an internal investigation.''

A second man, who is not believed to be a footballer, has also been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Police investigating the alleged sexual assault appealed yesterday for a potential witness to come forward.

A taxi driver drove past the alleged scene of the attack in the Leeds area on Monday night and could be a witness, West Yorkshire Police believe.

Last night, Morris and another man were questioned for up to 30 hours at Chapeltown police station in Leeds.

A second footballer from the club is believed to have talked to police officers at Wetherby police station in connection with the matter but he was not arrested.

In a separate inquiry, a second man was arrested yesterday by detectives investigating allegations by a 17-year-old girl that she was gang raped and sexually assaulted in room 316 at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in the early hours of September 27 by a group of men that included two English premiership football players.

The 27-year-old who attended a central London police station by appointment yesterday is believed to be a friend of the self-styled party organiser Nicholas Meikle, 29, who on Wednesday was arrested in connection with the allegations before being released on police bail pending further inquiries.

The new suspect is not one of the football players said to be at the heart of the inquiry which is being conducted by a Metropolitan Police Operation Sapphire specialist unit that investigates sex crimes and cases involving celebrities.

Although the names of the footballers allegedly involved in the attack have appeared on the internet, newspapers have chosen not to identify them.