Everton player fined £25,000 and banned after 5am drink-driving smash

Everton player Jean-Philippe Gbamin has been fined £25,000 and banned after his 5am drink-driving smash in an Audi super car.

The Premier League midfielder, 26, failed a breath test after his Audi RS Q8 collided with a Jaguar while he was leaving the M56, near his home in Hale Barns, Cheshire.

Tests have since revealed that the father-of-one had 52 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath with the legal limit set at 35mg.

Everton midfielder Jean-Philippe Gbamin, 26, is fined £25,000 and banned from the roads after 5am drink-driving smash https://t.co/9EejhXZV2b

— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) September 29, 2021

The incident occurred on the 8th of August and it is believed Gbamin had just given a friend a lift home following a night out.

At Manchester Magistrates’ Court, the player – who earns £100,000 a month – was issued with a fine worth £25,000 and was also banned from driving for 14 months.

Ms Tess Kenyon said: ‘PC Patel was asked to attend a road traffic incident at 5am and when he arrived, he saw two vehicles on the exit slip road on junction 6 of the M56.

‘PC Patel spoke to the driver of the Jaguar who stated he had been driving off the M56 junction at junction 6, when the other vehicle had just crashed into him. Both had stopped at the scene and exchanged details.

‘The Jaguar driver believed that the other driver might be under the influence of alcohol. PC Patel spoke to Mr Gbamin. He accepted that he was the driver of the Audi and that he had hit the other vehicle.

‘Asked if he had drunk any alcohol, he said “yes, one”. He cooperated with the roadside breath test, which he failed. That resulted in him being arrested. He then cooperated with the intoxilyzer machine procedure.’

In mitigation, defence lawyer John Dye said: ‘I ask that you keep the disqualification period to a minimum and what may allow you to do that is his guilty plea. He is absolutely devastated to be here.

‘This isn’t his home country. He was born in the Ivory Coast and is a professional footballer. There is some press attention, causing him more embarrassment. Whatever happens here, he will be fined by the club as well.

‘What happened at 5am that morning was that he had been out earlier. He had had some sleep but in the early hours, he was asked if he could take someone home.

‘Because he had some sleep, and he felt okay to drive, he got into that vehicle. That was a huge mistake. It was a huge misjudgment.’

Mr Dye added: ‘He has been injured for nearly two years. He signed two years ago for Everton but has only played nearly two games, then got injured.

‘He’s lived in the UK with very little in terms of friends and support although that’s not an excuse for finding himself here.

‘He was asked to stay at the scene by the other driver and the damage to the vehicle was very, very limited – it was paintwork. That will all be settled by the insurance and he gave his details.

‘He has a child who is 15 months old, a son and his family are in France and Germany. He does charity work and some of his income he gives to charity, to African nurseries in the Ivory Coast. His net income is £25,000 a week after tax.’

When asked if he wanted to say anything, Gbamin said: ‘I think my lawyer has said everything. I am sorry.’

JP Susanne O’Connell told him: ‘Drink driving is considered to be a very serious offence.

‘On the day in question, you collided with a Jaguar while over the alcohol limit and you are very fortunate that no serious injuries were caused.’

The former France international – at youth level – will be offered a place on a drink driving rehabilitation course. He was also ordered to pay £275 in costs and surcharges.

Born in San Pédro, Ivory Coast, he had spells with French clubs Aire-sur-la-Lys and US Saint-Quentin Blessy before joining Lens in 2007.

In 2016, he signed for Bundesliga outfit Mainz 05 before signing for Everton on August 2, 2019, on a five-year contract for a £25m fee.

He made appearances in the club’s first two games of the season before being ruled out for eight weeks due to a thigh injury.

In May, he injured an Achilles tendon in training, and it is thought he would be out until November.

Twitter users reacted with the Everton player fined £25,000 and banned after the 5am drink-driving smash in his Audi car…

@ObstructedView9: What is it with millionaires who just will not get a cab 🤷🏼‍♂️🤯

@GGenaral5: I want Gbamin out of this club now a drunk driver and a suspected nonce what the fuck are these scum bags doing to my club 😡

@RafasBlueArmy: Gbamin should have his contract ripped up! The work that the club do in the community with alcohol and drug addicted individuals and families could be undermined by players drinking and driving. If Gibson being moved on was good enough then Gbamin needs gone.

@RobertJames1956: Sack Gbamin off and sue him for all his wages back for FRAUD

@woodbridgemonk: Gbamin will very quickly lose all the sympathy and support he’s had for all his injury woes, if he continues to do absolutely idiotic, undefendable acts such as drink driving…get your head down, improve your fitness and challenge for a match day squad!!!

@JohnEverton95: No wonder he’s always injured

@davemc45: Get shut… I remember Darren Gibson doing something similar and we binned him off. Never fit and obviously a liability.

@PaddyWeathers4: What a DISASTER he’s been.

@dawkinm: If this is true, fucking sack him!

@paulEfC1975: Gbamin drink driving the pleb

@Ryan_EFC1878: That’s Gbamin done now for me. No place for drink driving when he could have easily killed someone. Never fit and now doing that. Stupid.

@Stevie_SES: So many Everton backed this lad after the injuries he’s had. So he’s out at 5am on a Sunday night, whilst trying to get match fit and potentially back in the first team. Another waste of space

@TerryMythenefc: Time to get rid of this waste of space

@buschenfeld: We could do with the points tbf

@gigsy1974: It’s amazing he never shattered he’s made of glass

@Chapperz37: Get Rid

@jmbirch68: He is the gift that keeps on giving.

@DC_1878_: Terminate his contract

@RoyalBlueBoy14: Everton should sack this player, total waste of wages and a place in the squad He will have no sell-on value any way Get rid now

@MarkyB1878: Even shit Premier League footballers are Millionaire’s if they wanna drink employ a driver to take you anywhere rather than drive around thinking they’re above the law.

@RhysColebourne2: @Everton any chance of a job since I’m not working at the moment yet players like this don’t even kick a ball for us and get payed millions?

@CoppellRob: Can’t excuse that behaviour. Get him out the door.

@gegsy19: Can’t the club sack him now for bringing the club into disrepute.

@steefcGT4: Another fraud just rip up his contract get him gone

@toffeetommy79: Sack him. Save on wages. Drink driving while out injured? Surely wit his dollar he could afford a driver? Fool. So sympathy for drink drivers! Sack him

@Manners16: yeah just sack him off. been unlucky with injuries but really wanted him to succeed. he’s clearly just a bellend