Jack Grealish has been banned from driving for nine months and given a fine of £82,499 after pleading guilty to two driving offences on November 24th.
Two other alleged charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence.
The Aston Villa captain appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning, sneakily avoiding the local press by having someone distract them by driving his Range Rover as he not so stealthily walked in on their blindside.
The 25-year-old was in court for sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of careless driving last month.
The first offence took place on March 29, during the first national lockdown, the day after he posted a video to social media pleading with his fans to protect the NHS by obeying the lockdown rules.
Grealish’s solicitor said his client was “deeply ashamed” of his actions and is a man of “good character.”
“Mr Grealish acknowledges that his driving on these two occasions was very poor,” said Mr John Dye, defending.
“He is deeply ashamed about that. He is somebody genuinely sorry, not just because reputationally this is problematic for him. He has reflected on his driving.
“He is deeply sorry and deeply ashamed of being here in court, his home court. He has never been to court before. He is a man of good character.”
The first incident, which took place on Sunday, 29 March, at Waterside, Mereways in Dickens Heath, saw Grealish’s white Range Rover collide with a number of vehicles. CCTV footage showed the footballer wearing different coloured sliders after he emerged from the car.
Grealish’s solicitor said his poor choice of footwear contributed to the crash.
“The footwear was totally inappropriate for driving his vehicle. It may be an explanation as to why he reversed back the way he does. That is his fault,” he said.
“It was stupid to go in a vehicle when he has got that footwear on. That in essence is why he drove in that way. What happens after is somewhat blind panic. He tries to put everything right and makes everything worse.
“To his credit he stayed at the scene. He told people at the scene he would pay for damage. In fact he has paid for the damage. There is no application for compensation. He can afford to pay for it and he has done.”
The second incident occurred on Sunday 18th October, when an unmarked police car had to travel as fast as 98mph to keep up with Grealish’s black Range Rover, as the footballer repeatedly approached cars in front in an apparent attempt to force them out of his way.
Grealish explained that he was running late for training, with Mr Dye adding that failing to turn up to Bodymoor Heath on time would have set a bad example for his Villa teammates.
“He was going to training and was running late. He is the club captain and he didn’t want to be thought badly of by his peers at his club,” Mr Dye added.
“If he could go back in time he would do. The police officer who spoke to him described Mr Grealish as polite, calm and compliant throughout. He apologised for his driving which shows his immediate remorse in relation to that.”
