If there is one thing that football stars are more popular for apart from football, it would certainly be their driving bans. There have been many cases in the past when many famous footballers slapped with a ban or imprisonment for their overdriving or unlawful driving habits and Manchester City’s striker Carlos Tevez is the next in the list. He was caught driving his white Porsche away from Mottram Hall Hotel and Golf Club despite his driving ban. He was sentenced with a six months driving ban by a Manchester Magistrates’ Court back in January when he failed to furnish information about several incidents his Hummer vehicle was involved in and since he is also missing a British passport (coz he could not clear his theory test citing language barrier), Macclesfield Magistrates court offered him a unique sentence, wherein he would have to serve the community for a good 250 hours. This is along with a £1,145 monetary fine out of his £196,000 weekly salary.
Earlier, it was expected that he will be served with an imprisonment, but thanks to his defense lawyer, he only got a social service initiative. Pronouncing the judgment, magistrate Depares told, “Mr Tévez, you must realise you are a role model to thousands, if not millions, of fans but nobody is above the law. You should not have been driving. We have heard that you are sorry and it is now up to you to ensure you will not be brought back to court again. He was very clear when talking to me this has been a very salutary lesson. I think the seriousness and significance of this type of offence, I think the likelihood of this happening again is very, very slim. Mr Tévez would welcome a chance to put something back into the community.”
Moreover, during the trial, his defense lawyer: Gwyn Lewis, put a resistance for him saying, he has a valid license in Argentina, but since that is not valid in UK he would surely get a provisional one for the time being, and until then, he would not do the same mistake again. He also ensured the court that player is willing to be a legitimated UK civilian. Lewis further added, “This is the first time he’s been in court to deal with a matter where he’s responsible for himself for his driving.”