AFP

London, Mar 6: Chelsea and England defender Ashley Cole was arrested for being drunk and disorderly outside a London bar overnight Thursday, police said.

The 28-year-old left-back was detained and held in custody for some three hours after reportedly swearing at police outside a bar and restaurant in London's plush South Kensington area, near Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground.

He was later given a spot fine of 80 pounds (113 dollars, 90 euros) and released.

"At about 2.15am on Thursday, a man was arrested in Brompton Road, South Kensington, on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly and taken to a central London police station," a police spokesman said when asked about the incident.

"He was later issued with a fixed penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly and released at 5.37am".

The spokesman did not directly identify the man, in line with regular British police policy.

A spokesman for Chelsea confirmed that Cole had been detained but added: "We will want to establish all the facts before commenting."

Earlier in the evening, Cole attended a charity fundraising event co-organised by his club. He then went to the bar with Chelsea and England captain John Terry and other teammates, according to its general manager.

Cole's wife Cheryl, a member of pop group Girls Aloud, is currently climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania for charity with a team of other British celebrities.

Cole has a bad boy reputation both on and off the pitch -- last year, he was widely condemned for turning his back on a referee while being booked after an ugly tackle, and his private life regularly features in tabloid newspapers.