Ferguson considers suing woman for 'making up' assault claim

Sir Alex Ferguson is considering suing the woman who falsely claimed that he had indecently assaulted her while she drove him to his hotel in South Africa.

Prosecutors dismissed 21-year-old Nadia Abrahams' allegations yesterday, saying that a prosecution would be "ridiculous" and the matter had "wasted everyone's time".

Sir Alex, 60, the Manchester United manager, who had met Ms Abrahams in a jazz club on a business trip, fiercely denied her claims that he repeatedly squeezed her thigh. He said she invented the story to make money.

A spokeswoman for Cape Town police said a detective had spoken to Ms Abrahams at the weekend. Senior Superintendent Mary Martins-Engelbrecht said she could not say if charges would be laidagainst her.

In a statement last night, Sir Alex said: "[This] vindicates what I said all along, namely that I have not committed any offence and the allegations against me are spurious and without foundation."

Sir Alex's lawyer, Alex Abercrombie, who was with the manager as he got into the woman's car, said legal action might be a waste of time because there were questions over Ms Abrahams' ability to pay damages if Sir Alex sued for defamation.Sir Alex was with a member of his coaching staff, Jim Ryan, and representatives from the South African Football Association when he met Ms Abrahams.

Sir Alex said she offered to give him a lift to his hotel because it was on her way home. Ms Abrahams claimed he called her before getting into her car uninvited in the early hours of Friday and caused her to swerve off the road.

Sir Alex accused Ms Abrahams and her 41-year-old boyfriend, Brian Ebden, a media agent and a part-owner of a football club, of making up the story so they could sell it to British newspapers.