LONDON: A British court refused Wednesday to release Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy on bail, ordering the player to remain in custody ahead of a potential trial on rape and sexual assault charges.Judge Steven Everett declined the 27-year-old Frenchman’s bail application at Chester Crown Court in northwest England following a 50-minute hearing, a court spokesman said.Mendy has been held at a prison in Liverpool since last Friday, when he appeared in court to face four counts of rape and one of sexual assault.He did not appear in court for Wednesday’s bail hearing.The Manchester City defender, who was suspended by the club following his arrest, faces accusations brought by three complainants.The incidents are alleged to have taken place between October 2020 and August 2021.Mendy is accused of attacking the females, one aged under 18, at his home in Prestbury, Cheshire.He is next due to appear at Chester Crown Court on September 10.A second man, aged 40, was arrested on suspicion of rape as part of the police investigation into the allegations but was released on bail, police in Cheshire said.