Bafana Bafana midfielder Steven Pienaar has been arrested following an alleged assault on a woman in Liverpool, England.

Everton star Pienaar, 26, went to a police station voluntarily on Sunday morning and was arrested after officers were called to investigate an incident at a flat in the Sefton Park area of Liverpool.

A spokesman for Merseyside police said: "Merseyside police can confirm that a 26-year-old man from the Mossley Hill area has been arrested on suspicion of assault."

Pienaar, currently sidelined by a broken toe, was part of the South African squad in the 2002 World Cup and played for the country at the 2008 African Cup of Nations in Ghana.

The talented Pienaar's move to Everton in April this year was made permanent after he played for the club while on loan from Germany's Borussia Dortmund. He has a three-year deal until 2011.

Pienaar is a product of Cape Town Ajax youth academy.

He joined Holland's Ajax in 2001.

He did not make his debut in Amsterdam until 2002, but the diminutive player became a pivotal member of the Ajax team that won the Dutch League in 2002 and 2004 - a team that featured Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wesley Sneijder and Cristian Chivu, among others.

A move to Dortmund followed in January 2006 as the German club sought a replacement for Arsenalbound Tomas Rosicky, but Pienaar struggled to make his mark in Germany and was happy to join Everton, initially on loan last year.

It has been reported that Pienaar would be out for six weeks because of the injury, a blow for both club and country.

"The man has been released on bail pending further inverstigations," added the Merseyside police.

In 2005 Pienaar and his Dutch girlfriend broke up violently, fighting in their Amsterdam love nest before he locked her out.

He was arrested and charged with domestic violence.

Police later withdrew the charges, saying Samira Zwanerburg's accusations were false. - Sapa