Source: Eurosport
Mikel handed 15-month driving ban
Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel was on Friday banned from the roads for 15 months after admitting a charge of drink driving in January.Mikel, 21, was found to be almost twice the limit when stopped by police in his black Range Rover in Fulham Road, West London, on January 24.District Judge Jeremy Coleman banned him from driving for 15 months and ordered him to pay £1,580 at West London Magistrates' Court.Mikel, who appeared in the dock wearing an Armani navy blue sweater, looked stumped as he was ordered to stop driving.His solicitor said he would not undertake a drink driving course to shorten the ban because he "would just like to serve it out".Mikel had been out to dinner and drunk between four and five glasses of wine after watching his team play at Stamford Bridge, the court heard.Prosecutor Fubhanur Chowdhury said he was stopped by a police patrol after officers saw him driving quickly and thought it was suspicious.He said: "Mr Mikel was stopped at 5.15am in the early morning in Fulham."The reason he was stopped is he was driving at speed. The officers became suspicious of the manner in which he was driving."They could smell alcohol on his breath. There were three attempts to provide a sample and the result was positive. He was arrested and taken to Fulham Police Station."Mikel was found to have 66 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the court heard. This is nearly twice the legal limit.A second charge of driving without a proper licence was withdrawn after it was disclosed the Nigerian international held a valid international licence.[LNB]
