A Premier League footballer is free to continue driving after a charge alleging that he had been speeding in a Bentley was dropped.
Aston Villa defender Lucas Digne, 30, was accused of travelling at 70mph late at night in a temporary 50mph zone on the M6 in the West Midlands.
Digne had allegedly been clocked by an automatic camera on May 23 last year, three days after his side played Liverpool away in the penultimate game of the league season.
He was charged with driving the Bentley between junctions 5 and 4 at 9.56pm.
But the case was withdrawn by the prosecution at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court this afternoon without the Frenchman appearing.
After a brief hearing, District Judge David Wain told Digne’s lawyer, Gwyn Lewis, that his client ‘will probably be quite satisfied with the result’ and said ‘you can be on your way’.
Digne was involved in a heated exchange with boss Unai Emery during Villa’s 4-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Emery later said he was simply passing on some tactical advice to the left back, who had been sitting on the subs’ benches at Villa Park.
The former Barcelona and Everton player showed no sign of the court case overshadowing his performances at the time the charge was issued.
A week after the alleged offence, he thanked Villa fans on X for their ‘incredible’ support and said ‘Europe here we go’.
Off the pitch, the club’s £25 million signing has shown a taste for high end cars, driving a Mercedes while playing for Roma in 2016.
He was reportedly involved in an accident with an old Fiat 500 after the driver lost control and crashed into his vehicle.
Fortunately, he was unscathed after the incident, which was blamed on a slippery road surface after rainfall.
While playing at Barcelona in 2017, he was given an Audi RS3 Sportback 2.5 TFSI quattro, as the motor giant gifted staff and players with luxury cars.
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