Aston Villa and England player Jack Grealish pleads guilty to two charges of committing his latest offence taking place in March.
The midfielder has pleaded guilty to two charges careless driving, including one which was in relation to a crash during the first coronavirus lockdown in March.
The Aston Villa and England midfielder entered his plea at Birmingham Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday through his lawyer, but did not attend himself.
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Police launched an investigation in March after Grealish was pictured at the scene of a crash when a white Range Rover had hit two parked vehicles, with the driver leaving details.
In a statement, West Midlands police said: ‘We were called to Waterside, Dickens Heath, just before 10am to reports that a Range Rover had crashed into two parked cars in the street.
‘The driver left his details with a member of the public at the scene before leaving on foot, and will be spoken to by police in due course. Minor damage was caused to the parked vehicles.
‘Officers are investigating the circumstances and anyone with information has been asked to get in touch.’
Less than 24 hours before the crash on the 29th of March, Grealish had urged people to stay at home during the lockdown. He said in a video on social media:
‘To help save lives you must stay at home. Only leave your house to buy food, buy medicine or to exercise and always remember to stay at least two metres apart.
‘This is urgent, protect the NHS, stay home, save lives.’
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) March 30, 2020
The second guilty plea for careless driving was in relation to driving without due care and attention on the M42 in October.
Grealish also denied two further charges of failing to stop and failing to report the March crash in Dickens Heath. With the Crown Prosecution Service offering no evidence, the charges were dismissed.
A statement was released in March by West Midlands Police, it read: “A Premier League footballer has been charged with driving without due care and attention, and failing to stop at or report a collision.
“An investigation was launched after we responded to reports of a car hitting parked vehicles and the driver fleeing on foot.
“The 24-year-old from Barnt Green, Worcestershire, has been postal charged to appear before Birmingham Magistrates Court on 25 August.”
Days after the incident, he said he is “deeply embarrassed” by events over the weekend.
Grealish says he received a call off a friend to go to their house and “stupidly” agreed, only to end up in an incident with another vehicle on Sunday morning.
He said: “Hi, everybody just want to do a quick video message just to say how deeply embarrassed I am by what has happened this weekend.
“I know it is a tough time for everyone at the moment, being locked indoors for so long, and I obviously got a call off a friend asking to go round to his and I stupidly agreed to do so.
“I don’t want anyone to make the same mistake as I did so I obviously urge everyone to stay at home and follow the rules and the guidelines of what we’ve been asked to do.
“I know for a fact that I will be doing that in the near future now and like I said I urge everyone to do the same.
“I hope everyone can accept my apology and we can move on from this and hopefully in the near future we can all be out enjoying ourselves again once this has all boiled over.”
His Premier League club said in a statement: “Aston Villa is deeply disappointed that one of our players ignored the Government’s guidance on staying at home during the Coronavirus crisis.
“Club Captain Jack Grealish has accepted that his decision to leave his house was wrong and entirely unnecessary. It breached the government guidelines which are clear and should be adhered to by everybody.
“The player will be disciplined and fined with the proceeds donated to The University Hospitals Charity in Birmingham.”
He’s currently having a great season on the field however, helping Aston Villa to 7th in the Premier League table after surviving the drop and managed to keep a place in the England team.
Fans reacted after seeing Jack Grealish pleads guilty to two charges of latest offence…
He’s young everyone makes mistakes
— c🕊 (@Hillc98) November 24, 2020
I don’t think reckless driving is a mistake. Even on the first attempt. What is this now, his fourth?
— Davy (@The60ftOctopus) November 24, 2020
Imagine this was Greenwood or Sterling.
— Mega (@Mega__50) November 24, 2020
People judging like they’ve never made mistakes in their past. Yes he’s an idiot but he’s taking responsibility for his actions.
— JayUTV (@JayVtid) November 24, 2020
I genuinely had to read twice !!
Thought it said diving 😂— Notsocheekytaylor (@Notsocheekytay1) November 24, 2020
I can see now why he’s being compared to Gazza
— ANDY MC D #19 #CHAMP19NS 🔴 (@amdlfc91) November 24, 2020
jail time needed imo
— ً (@ftbl_jared) November 24, 2020
Will have more points on his license than you come the end of the season 🤣
— Liam Haddon (@liamhaddon1) November 24, 2020
Never learn silly boy
— Pete The Frayed Ends of Sanity😂🎸🏆⚽️ 🥃😎🤘 (@BadgeSmiley) November 24, 2020
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