Carlos Tevez gets six-month driving ban

Manchester City striker did not understand letters

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez was disqualified from driving for six months after he failed to understand the word “constabulary” on official letters from the police, a court heard today.

Tevez, 28, was disqualified from driving and ordered to pay a total in fines and costs of £1,540 at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates' Court.

The striker, who did not attend the hearing in person, pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to furnish information which relate to incidents in which his car was clocked speeding.

The court heard he received letters from the police in relation to the offences but he failed to respond because he did not recognise the word constabulary.

Tevez also admitted not having a proper UK driving licence, but denied he was driving when his car was caught speeding.

The footballer's solicitor, Gwyn Lewis, told the court: "He does understand the word 'police', but not more complicated words. The letters are written from Cheshire Constabulary and the word police doesn't appear on it anywhere."

He said that was also the case in relation to the speeding office in Morecambe, which was pursued by Lancashire Constabulary.

"The word constabulary is not one that is recognised internationally, but of course police is," Mr Lewis said.

"The correspondence was not dealt with properly and that has resulted in these offences."

When discussing the possibility of a fine, Mr Lewis told the bench: "He is a footballer and in that regard he is relatively well paid."

The court ordered that the disqualification period would start from November 26, last year, when an interim driving ban was imposed on the player.

Tevez, from Alderley Edge, Cheshire, mimicked driving a vehicle after he scored twice in his team's Premier League win at home to Aston Villa on November 17 last year.

Last November Lancaster magistrates imposed an interim ban on him after he failed to provide information when his car was clocked doing 39mph in a 30mph zone in Morecambe, Lancashire, on March 28 - the night he played for City's reserves against Morecambe Reserves.

The court heard he failed to respond to letters sent to him by police on April 3 and May 4.

Mr Lewis told the court his client accepted he did not provide identification - which carries six penalty points - and that under the totting up procedure he was now liable for disqualification.

The court heard that Tevez's Hummer vehicle was also clocked doing 66mph in a 50mph zone in Crewe, Cheshire, on May 8 and that he again failed to respond to letters from the police about it.

On November 15, last year, his Porsche Panamera was impounded in Manchester as he could not produce a full UK driving licence.

The car was seized under section 165 of the Road Traffic Act in a routine patrol near to the Britannia Airport Hotel.

Tess Kenyon, prosecuting, said police pulled the car over after they checked it on the police system and it was found that Tevez was listed as a provisional driving licence holder and he was not displaying L-plates.

He was spoken to at the side of the road with the aid of a Spanish interpreter, the court heard.

He was then summonsed for driving otherwise in accordance with a driving licence.

Three years ago - when he was playing for City's rivals Manchester United - his Bentley Continental GT Speed was impounded in similar circumstances.

The Bentley was removed by police near to junction six of the M60 in February 2009 after it was found he did not have a full UK driving licence.

As an Argentinian driving licence holder, Tevez, is permitted to drive in Britain for the first 12 months of his stay in the country but is then required to apply for a provisional licence and pass the UK driving theory and practical test.

Mr Lewis said the theory test will be problematic for his client as it is normally conducted in English.

The centre forward joined West Ham United in 2006 and then moved to Manchester United a season later. He signed for Manchester City in the summer of 2009.

PA