France captain Hugo Lloris gets 20-month ban for drunken driving

Image Courtesy: Reuters

France’s World Cup-winning captain Hugo Lloris was banned from driving for 20 months and fined after pleading guilty to a charge of driving drunk, British media reported on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper admitted being more than twice above the drink-drive limit of 35 micrograms when he was stopped by police in central London last month.

Lloris, who won the World Cup with France in July, was fined 50,000 pounds ($65,130.00) at Westminster Magistrates` court.

Prosecutor Henry Fitch said police found Lloris in an unmarked car driving at 15 mph in a 30 mph zone.

The court heard that Lloris veered his car "towards parked vehicles" before correcting himself and went through a red light.

David Sonn, defending, said the "spectacular fall from grace" was not lost on Lloris.

"On July 15 he was arguably the proudest man on the planet (having captained France to a World Cup triumph)," Sonn was quoted as saying by the BBC.

"Just 40 days later, he was arrested. He experienced the indignity of being handcuffed and put in a police station overnight."

Lloris, who joined Spurs from Olympique Lyonnais in 2012, apologised for the incident after he was charged by the Metropolitan Police last month.

($1 = 0.7677 pounds)