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| Chelsea star banned from driving | Chelsea star banned from driving |
| (21 minutes later) | |
| Chelsea star John Mikel Obi has been banned from driving for 15 months after admitting drinking and driving. | Chelsea star John Mikel Obi has been banned from driving for 15 months after admitting drinking and driving. |
| The midfielder, who also plays for Nigeria, was arrested on 24 January in his Range Rover on Fulham Road, west London, near the club's ground. | The midfielder, who also plays for Nigeria, was arrested on 24 January in his Range Rover on Fulham Road, west London, near the club's ground. |
| The player, 21, from Weybridge, Surrey, was found by police to be almost twice the drink-drive limit. | The player, 21, from Weybridge, Surrey, was found by police to be almost twice the drink-drive limit. |
| District Judge Jeremy Coleman also ordered Mikel to pay £1,580, at the West London Magistrates' Court hearing. | District Judge Jeremy Coleman also ordered Mikel to pay £1,580, at the West London Magistrates' Court hearing. |
| Mikel's solicitor told the court the player would not attend a drink driving course, which could shorten his sentence. Instead the player "would just like to serve it out". | |
| 'Suspicious driving' | |
| Mikel was stopped after officers saw him driving quickly and thought it was suspicious, prosecutor Fubhanur Chowdhury told the court | |
| "The reason he was stopped is he was driving at speed. The officers became suspicious of the manner in which he was driving. | |
| "They could smell alcohol on his breath. There were three attempts to provide a sample and the result was positive," he said. | |
| The player was found to have 66 mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, which is almost twice the legal limit. | |
| The court heard had drunk four to five glasses of wine at dinner after watching his team play at Stamford Bridge, the court heard. | |
| The prosecution withdrew a charge of driving without a proper licence against him after they found he held a valid international licence. |