Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez was today ordered to do 250 hours' community service, banned from driving for six months and must pay £1,145 in court costs and fines after admitting motoring offences.
Tevez, 29, was told he is a role model to millions but nobody is above the law after the footballer admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance when he appeared at Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court in Cheshire today.
The £200,000-a-week Argentina international was caught by police, after an anonymous tip-off, leaving a Cheshire golf club behind the wheel of a Porsche Cayenne while serving a road ban on March 7th.
Passing sentence, chair of the bench Elizabeth Depares told the defendant: “Mr Tevez, 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.”
Tevez listened to proceedings from the dock with the aid of an interpreter, translating into his native Spanish.
Ms Depares said that for driving whilst disqualified Tevez must do the 250 hours community service within the next 12 months and he would be banned from the road for six months, starting from today.
For having no insurance he was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a victim surcharge of £60.
The court heard Tevez had suffered a “frightening” experience and a “salutary lesson” after being taken into custody and arrested by police.
Earlier JPs had adjourned the case while Tevez spoke to a probation officer about his offence and sentencing options.
After the discussion, Mike Boliver, the Probation Service officer, told the bench Tevez had no previous convictions so rehabilitation was not appropriate and neither was a curfew order because of the travel involved with his job.
Mr Boliver added: “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 Tevez would welcome a chance to put something back into the community. Clearly, he is fit for unpaid work.”
Gwyn Lewis, defending, added: “I echo what’s been said, that’s been my experience too, that the whole experience from his being arrested, to being in the police station, to being in court. This is of course all completely alien to him and very frightening.”
