DRINK DRIVE LLORIS SET TO LOSE SPURS CAPTAINCY
Club fury at World Cup star after he spends seven hours in police cell
HUGO LLORIS could be stripped of the Tottenham captaincy after the World Cup-winning goalkeeper was arrested at 2.20am in central London yesterday and charged with drink-driving.
The 31-year-old, who captained France to victory in the summer, allegedly failed a breathalyser test after being pulled over by police in Gloucester Place, near Baker Street.
The Spurs star had spent the evening with compatriots Laurent Koscielny of Arsenal and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud at Bagatelle in Mayfair, a plush club-restaurant.
After being arrested, Lloris, who is paid £150,000 a week, was taken to Charing Cross police station. It is believed he spent seven hours in custody before being formally charged and released on bail, and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court next month.
Tottenham are understandably furious as they prepare for their Premier League clash with Manchester United on Monday as Lloris, having only arrived home at 11am yesterday, missed training.
He is still in line to be in the squad for Old Trafford but must now convince manager Mauricio Pochettino that he should keep the captain’s armband.
The Frenchman started by showing public remorse last night. He said in a statement: ‘I wish to apologise wholeheartedly to my family, the club, my team-mates, the manager and all of the supporters. Drink-driving
is completely unacceptable, I take full responsibility for my actions and it is not the example I wish to set.’
Spurs are aware of 31-year-old Lloris’s immense popularity inside the changing room but the decision over the captaincy will ultimately be down to Pochettino, who will speak to his skipper today.
Harry Kane, who captained England in the World Cup, is a ready replacement to take over should it come to that.
Lloris also faces being fined two weeks’ wages by his club, worth around £300,000 in total.
A Tottenham spokesperson said: ‘ The club takes matters such as this extremely seriously and it will be dealt with internally.’
The Metropolitan Police confirmed: ‘ Hugo Lloris has charged with drink- driving following a routine patrol stop in Gloucester Place. He has been bailed to return to Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 11.’
The news of the charge broke minutes after Pochettino had finished his press conference yesterday ahead of Spurs’ visit to Old Trafford.
The incident is considered out of character for Lloris, who is well respected inside football and at Tottenham. One Spurs insider even went as far as to say that the goalkeeper would have been the ‘last person’ they would suspect of being caught up in off-the-pitch controversy.
Lloris returned from his post-World Cup holiday five days before the start of the new season but he still featured in wins over Newcastle and Fulham.
He joined the club in 2012 from Lyon for £7.9million and has played more than 250 times for the north London club. He has also won 104 caps for France.