Lyn Mousset crashed into two cars in Sheffield on January 4, leaving his £350,000 Lamborghini badly damaged; the Sheffield United forward was fined £5,000 and disqualified from driving for six months
Tuesday 15 June 2021 13:07, UK
Sheffield United forward Lys Mousset has been fined £5,000 and disqualified from driving for six months after crashing his £350,000 Lamborghini supercar.
The 25-year-old ploughed into a Vauxhall and a Land Rover on Abbeydale Road South in Sheffield on January 4, leaving his orange vehicle badly damaged, magistrates in the city heard on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Ellis Wilsdon said: "The force involved in the collision meant the Lamborghini must have been travelling at substantial speed and must have been on the wrong side of the road for the collision to have occurred."
Ms Wilsdon said Mousset originally claimed not to be the driver of the car, and failed a road-side breath test.
But, when he was tested at a police station, he gave an alcohol reading of 32 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.
Mousset did not attend the hearing but his lawyer, Nick Terry, pleaded guilty on his behalf to driving without due care and attention and failing to stop following an accident.
Mr Terry said his client earned £20,000 a week.
Chair of the bench Paul Bristow disqualified Mousset under the "totting" rules, giving him nine penalty points for driving without due care and attention.
The player already has nine points on his licence for three separate speeding offences.
Mr Bristow fined the player £5,000 and ordered him to pay £110 costs and a £190 victim surcharge. There was no separate penalty for the other offence.
Ms Wilsdon told the court the alarm was raised by a resident who heard the sound of a car "revving" outside his house shortly after midnight and saw two men arguing in the street near the crashed cars.
The force of the collision was enough to spin the Land Rover around, she said.
She said Mousset told witnesses his cousin had been driving the car in the 30mph zone and the defendant left the scene, but was arrested later.
The prosecutor said that, at a later police interview, the player admitted he was the driver but made no further comment.
Mr Terry said his client was arguing with his cousin because he had offered to say he was driving the sports car when it crashed.
He said Mousset eventually went along with this but later changed his mind and decided to "put the situation right".
Mr Terry said his client only left the scene to get his insurance and other documents and he believed people there knew who he was.
Mousset, who won eight caps for France at U21 level, joined Sheffield United for £10m from Bournemouth in 2019.
