Tottenham Hotspur and France National Team Captain Hugo Lloris was handed a 20-month driving ban and fined £50,000 after pleading guilty to charges of drink driving. Lloris appeared in a London court today, and during the proceedings more detailed emerged in regards to the incident that took place in the early hours of Friday Aug. 24.
That evening, Lloris was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after failing a roadside breathalyzer test. The goalkeeper was charged at 2:20 a.m. and spent the night in jail.
He was then released on bail the next day.
According to what was revealed in Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Lloris was driving with a blood alcohol concentration that was over twice the legal limit. He was also going 15 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone, while according to NBC Sports:
“he also ran a red light and swerved towards parked cars before being stopped by police. It was also revealed that vomit was found in his car and Lloris had to be helped out of the vehicle by police officers.”
Lloris, who had just helped lead France to World Cup glory in Russia a few weeks earlier, was out for dinner and drinks with national teammates Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny. Four nights after the dinner, Lloris started in goal for Tottenham in their 3-0 win at Manchester United.
It’s unlikely that he’ll face Liverpool in Saturday’s crunch clash however, as he was not with the French team on international break and he missed Tottenham’s last game with Watford due to a thigh injury.
Lloris’ defender in court David Sonn articulated his client’s extreme fall from grace.
“On July 15 [when France won the World Cup] he was arguably the proudest man on the planet,” Sonn said. “Just 40 days later, he was arrested.
“He experienced the indignity of being handcuffed and put in a police station overnight. The spectacular fall from grace is not lost on Mr. Lloris.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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