Lingard hit with 18-month drink-driving ban but denies racing £200k Lamborghini
Jesse Lingard has apologised for “putting the lives of others at risk” after he admitted drink-driving in his £200,000 Lamborghini.
The former Manchester United player was on Thursday fined a week’s wages - £57,000 - for being more than twice over the legal limit. Manchester magistrates’ court heard how Lingard, 30, was driving in Sale, Greater Manchester, on July 8, this year, when he was stopped by police.
Tara Riley, prosecuting, said an officer who was following his Lamborghini Urus became aware it was being driven at speed. The officer’s “initial belief”, she said, was Lingard’s vehicle was racing another high-performance car.
“He doesn’t believe 100% they were racing but they were driving at speed,” she said.
She said the officer spoke to Lingard at the roadside and believed he was under the influence of alcohol. A breath test revealed 76 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit is 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. Frank Rogers, representing Lingard, described the player’s actions as “out of character”.
He said Lingard, who pleaded guilty to a charge of drink-driving, had initially been out for a meal with friends and only drunk soft drinks. He had intended going home but received a call from a “fellow professional footballer” and driven to Manchester to have a “few drinks” with him.
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Mr Rogers said Lingard had “mistakenly” believed he had left sufficient time to drive home, describing it as “spontaneous decision”. A personal assistant, who would normally drive Lingard in such circumstances, wasn’t working, he said. Mr Rogers denied Lingard had been “racing” and said Lingard had shown remorse for his actions.
He said his client would pay a “heavy price” in the future as his career and family - to whom he has large financial commitments - would be impacted. He added Lingard - who is currently without a club after being released by Nottingham Forest - was training with West Ham, who were considering offering him a contract and said other offers were “in the pipeline”.
Lingard has issued an apology for his actions after the incident earlier this year (Getty Images)When asked by district judge Joanne Hirst how much Lingard currently earned, Mr Rogers told the court it was £249,000 a month, or £57,000 a week. The judge told Lingard the case had aggravating features, including him being twice over the limit, saying: “One wonders who would have cared for your entire family had you killed yourself or someone else.”
She told him he would be punished in the same way as anyone else before the court - a week’s earnings. And she also added a £2,000 victim surcharge, meaning Lingard must pay £59,000 in total.
The player was banned from driving for 18-months, to run concurrently with an existing six-month ban. Lingard said in a statement: “I want to acknowledge my mistake and publicly apologise for my unacceptable actions.
“I completely understand and accept the consequences of my mistake by putting the lives of others at risk. I am sorry to all my fans and anyone who has followed and supported me throughout my career. I accept the sentence of the court and the fine.”
The former England international is currently without a club (Getty Images)The drink-drive incident happened three weeks before Lingard was given a six-month ban after he admitted failing to give details of who was driving his Range Rover when it was caught speeding.
Mr Rogers told Manchester magistrates’ court in July his client was not driving the car and had been unaware a notice of intended prosecution had been sent to his £3.4million mansion because he was not living there at the time, after moving to Nottingham Forest.
Lingard was fined £900 for failing to provide information relating to the driver of his car and given six penalty points on his driving licence. As he already had six points on his licence, it meant he was liable to be disqualified from driving.
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