Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding are found not guilty of raping a woman in June 2016.
The jury of eight men and three women deliberated for three hours and 45 minutes before delivering their unanimous verdicts.
The woman claimed Mr Jackson had followed her into the bedroom and pushed her onto the bed. She then claimed she was raped.Outside the courthouse, Mr Jackson thanked the judge and jury for "giving him a fair trial" as well as his family and legal team."It's our belief that the investigation has been characterised by the turning of a blind eye to inadequacies in the evidence of the complainant combined with the very apparent investigative bias," he said.
"Several days of this trial were lost due to problems thrown up by the intrusive infection of the process by social media," he said. "I have consistently told the truth to the police and the court when asked to account for my conduct."The Public Prosecution Service defended the decision to take the case to court.
The senior investigating officer in the case, Det Ch Insp Zoe McKee, said she had spoken to the complainant following the verdicts: "Understandably, she is upset and disappointed with the outcome." In a joint statement, the Irish Rugby Football Union and Ulster Rugby said it had "undoubtedly been a difficult and extremely traumatic time for all involved".They added that an internal review had been postponed pending the end of judicial proceedings and that a review committee has been appointed and "will conclude its review as soon as practicable".
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