Fulham captain Tom Cairney has been fined more than £7,500 for failing to pay £2.92 in car tax, according to court documents assessed by the Standard.
The Scottish international was prosecuted under the fast-track Single Justice Procedure by a Derby-based magistrate having overlooked the annual fee on his Audi last September. The 34 year-old entered a guilty plea, writing to the court:
“I just completely forgot I didn’t pay it, so I take responsibility but the car is now fully insured. Thanks for your understanding.”
The 34 year-old midfielder, who made his 351st appearance for the Whites as a late substitute as they came from behind to see off Southampton yesterday and kept their European hopes alive, in his tenth campaign at Craven Cottage and previously hit the headlines for parking in a disabled bay five years ago.
Fulham’s legal director wrote in mitigation that Cairney was ‘unaware that his vehicle expired’. The submission continued:
“The defendant has now learned the importance of taxing his vehicle, and has since been instructed on how to properly do so. The defendant has been reassuring that this will not happen again and he sincerely apologises for any inconvenience that this may have caused.”
The Standard suggests that three SJP prosecutions against professional footballers – including the one against Cairney – are the subject of applications to the court to be re-evaluated.
