The 29-year-old (now playing for the Mackems) and his 30-year-old brother Tesfaye were detained after the alleged rape of a young woman was reported to police in the early hours of the morning.
The pair are being questioned by Northumbria police over an alleged attack at a Newcastle city centre hotel.
Reports claim the rape took place at the four-star Vermont Hotel, which has an entrance near to the bars and clubs on Newcastle's quayside.
A police spokseman said: "Police received a report of a rape of a woman at a city centre hotel in Newcastle in the early hours.
"Two men, aged 29 and 30, have been arrested on suspicion of rape."