Wayne Rooney has been banned from driving for two years after pleading guilty to drink driving at court this morning.
He has also been ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid community service for his crime as part of a 12-month community order.
The former England captain was almost three times over the drink driving limit when he was stopped by police on September 1.
Rooney was stopped driving 29-year-old Laura Simpson home because her car had a faulty brake light.
His breathalyser test registered at 104 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, Stockport Magistrates Court heard. The legal limit is 35 micrograms per 100ml in England and Wales.
Rooney said after the hearing:
Following today’s court hearing I want publicly to apologise for my unforgivable lack of judgement in driving while over the legal limit. It was completely wrong.
He continued:
I have already said sorry to my family, my manager and chairman and everyone at Everton FC. Now I want to apologise to all the fans and everyone else who has followed and supported me throughout my career.
Of course I accept the sentence of the court and hope that I can make some amends through my community service.
Rooney’s lawyer, Michael Rainford, said that Rooney is also likely to be fined around two week’s salary by Everton.
This equates to £300,000.
Rainford said:
He knows he has let himself down here but he has let his family down, he has a wife and three young children, but he has also let his fans down.
He can have an impact on young people, and you can see in the letter there how he has helped young people through their difficulties.
The judge opted against a monetary fine for the offences as he didn’t believe it would have the same punitive effects, reports the BBC.
Rooney committed the offence while his pregnant wife and family were on holiday.
His wife Coleen announced last month that she is pregnant with the couple’s fourth child.
She was apparently ‘livid’ with her husband, and was nowhere to be found at the court hearing.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman said that Rooney’s punishment at the club would be dealt with ‘internally’.
