Mystery football star filmed in 125mph motorway dash
TRAFFIC police yesterday posted a video of a well-known footballer driving at an alleged 125mph on a motorway just moments after overtaking their marked patrol car.
The dash cam footage seems to show a £165,000 Mercedes jeep undertaking at high speed on a slip-road on the M25 in Hertfordshire on Sunday morning.
Alongside the video clip, the police tweeted: “Having just overtaken a marked police X5, this somewhat well-known footballer decided 125mph and undertaking on an off-slip of the M25 was OK.”
Officers included the hashtag #taxitotraining as they believed he was breaking the speed limit by 55mph to make sure he got to a coaching session on time.
The player, who is in his 30s, was pulled over between junctions 20 and 22 and later handed a summons to appear in court for excessive speeding.
If found guilty, he faces a lengthy driving ban, a hefty fine and a bill for court costs.
The section of the M25 where the footballer was stopped is close to a number of training grounds including Arsenal’s and Watford’s at London Colney. Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire police’s joint road traffic unit use an official Twitter account to shame errant motorists in a bid to promote safer driving.
The police later took down the video and posted a new message refusing to name the player before he appeared in court. It said: “This one has garnered some interest! Just to confirm we are unable to name the driver for legal reasons.
“They have been reported for the speeding offence and will have to explain their actions to a magistrate.”
The car featured in the police dash cam footage is a Mercedes G-Class vehicle, commonly Mercedes G Wagon.
Its top speed is about 136mph and it is capable of going from 0-60mph in approximately five seconds.
Because of their vast earnings, dark-coloured sports utility known as a fines for footballers who commit motoring offences are huge compared to those issued to less well-paid members of the public.
Last September, 25-year-old Southampton star Mario Lemina was fined £96,000 for failing to inform police if he was at the wheel when his car was caught speeding three times.
It is understood to be the biggest fine for a motoring offence in Britain.
The Gabonese player, thought to earn £32,000 a week, admitted the offence saying he was unable to say which of his relatives was driving on each occasion.
The car involved Mercedes G Wagon.
But there is no suggestion that Lemina was the footballer who was stopped on Sunday. was also
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