Fulham manager Chris Coleman has been disqualified from driving for six months and ordered to pay almost £900 after being caught speeding in Burgh Heath.
Coleman, 35, of The Glade in Kingswood, appeared at Redhill Magistrates’ Court in Hatchlands Road on Monday where he pleaded guilty after being snapped by a speed camera on the A240 Reigate Road in July last year doing 46mph in a 30mph zone.
The Premiership boss already had nine points from previous offences over the past two years.
This prompted the magistrates to add a further five points, meaning Coleman had exceeded 12 points and led to his licence being revoked.
Coleman has had problems on roads in East Surrey in the past, most notably a crash in Outwood Lane in Bletchingley in January 2001 which ended his playing career and left his Jaguar unrecognisable.
The former Crystal Palace, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham and Wales defender arrived early at court but was left waiting for more than an hour before his case was heard.
In his defence, Coleman’s solicitor Jonathon Goulding told the magistrates: “No doubt you all know he is the manager of Fulham Football Club.
“He is a hard-working man who has been involved with football all his life and for the past three years has been a manager with a considerable amount of success.
| FWPlugin:Last5SearchArticles(Coleman) |
“He works very hard from 8.30am until late at night, coaching, scouting and watching matches up and down the country, which means he drives hundreds of miles a week.
“He is a family man with four children and he spends as much time as he can with them while balancing his time at work.”
Mr Goulding told the court that Coleman is having work done on his house in March, which will mean he and his family will have to move out and therefore it would be “inconvenient without a car”.
The court heard that Coleman was speeding on that particular day because he was in a rush to get to work.
Mr Goulding said: “He was driving to work on the occasion he went past the speed camera and there was nobody around and was no danger to anyone.”
Coleman was left to wait 15 minutes while the magistrates discussed how they would punish him.
In delivering his verdict, chairman of the bench Tim Short ordered Coleman to pay £850 and £43 court costs and further endorsed his licence with five penalty points.
He said: “You will be disqualified for six months which means you must not drive on any road or in any public place.
“You must not drive and if you do it will be considered a serious offence.”
The Surrey Mirror tried to talk to Mr Coleman after the hearing, but he just said: “No comment, sorry.”
