The footballers John Fashanu and Hans Segers were cleared of match-fixing charges yesterday. They walked free from the dock at Winchester Crown Court together with their co-accused, the Malaysian businessman Mr Heng Suan Lim.
The jury of six women and five men returned unanimous not-guilty verdicts on each of the three allegations of rigging Premier League football matches.
They also cleared the goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar on a similar match-fixing charge, but the former Liverpool and Southampton star still faces a further charge of corruptly accepting £2,000.
Fashanu, Segers and Mr Lim were freed after the jury had been locked in their room for more than 26 hours considering evidence heard during the nine-week trial.
There were delighted gasps from the footballers' wives in the public gallery as the not-guilty verdicts were firmly declared by the shirt-sleeved foreman in a packed and tense court room.
Each bowed to the judge as they were formally discharged and a delighted Fashanu turned and shook the hand of Mr Lim.
As the three cleared defendants walked smiling from the court room to be greeted by friends and relatives with handshakes and hugs, Grobbelaar was left standing alone in the dock.
He left the courtroom minutes later, and will return tomorrow when the jury continues to consider its verdict on the sole remaining charge against him.
The jurors were sent home by Mr Justice McCullough after saying they had not yet reached a unanimous decision on that count.
There were scenes of jubilation outside the court as the three cleared defendants were greeted by happy relatives and legal teams. It was the second time the men had faced trial. Earlier this year another jury had failed to reach verdicts.
A tearful Ms Astrid Segers greeted her husband. They hugged each other tightly and the former Wimbledon goalkeeper held back tears of relief after the wait for the verdict.
Fashanu's wife, Melissa, had earlier comforted Astrid and Grobbelaar's wife, Debbie, in the public gallery directly above the dock. They exchanged hugs as each of their husbands were cleared.
Outside the court Segers said: "I would like to say thank you to quite a few people. Especially for my wife it has been two and a half years of nightmare. But we got the verdict we wanted and deserved."
The 35-year-old footballer also thanked his friends and legal team for their support, especially after the first trial.
He said: "It has been an unbelievable day. It has been very emotional and I want to go to my two children and tell them the good news."
Segers added: "I want to resume my career. I have been in training throughout the summer so I am ready to go."
The former Aston Villa and Wimbledon striker Fashanu (34) left hand in hand with his wife, Melissa, the daughter of a Gabon politician. Fashanu, who had to give up his role as presenter of the Gladiators television programme because of the retrial, said: "I was dragged into this storm two and a half to three years ago."
All four defendants denied being part of a plot which was said to involve Indonesian paymasters betting illegally in the Far East on the results of games.
Mr Lim was alleged to be the representative of the syndicate. But, although he admitted paying Grobbelaar between £8,000 and £9,000 and Segers £45,000, he said this had been for their help in forecasting games.