Arsenal star Mesut Ozil admits doing 97mph in £160,000 Mercedes G-Class on M1 – but tells court he thought speedo said KILOMETRES rather than miles per hour in bid to avoid road ban
- Footballer, 32, had been on his way back from training when clocked by police
- He offered no comment when they pulled him over but wrote to JPs to explain
- Ozil blamed confusion between miles and kilometers for the speeding error
- He also claimed his car’s quiet engine had caused a lapse in concentration
Arsenal star and German international Mesut Ozil has blamed being confused by kilometres and miles after being caught driving nearly 100mph.
The midfielder, 32, had been trying to escape a driving ban after being clocked coming back from training on July 2.
Officers had seen his speeding Mercedes G-Class on the southbound carriageway of the M1 just after 11.50am and pulled him over.
While he gave a ‘no comment’ to the police, he offered a more detailed explanation to Bromley magistrates this week after being charged over the offence.
He blamed his German nationality as well as the ‘low engine noise’ of his car for causing a lapse in concentration.
Ozil – who rakes in £350,000 a week – wrote to them to insist: ‘When attempting to rationalise my actions, I believe it was the combination of the empty road, with no other vehicles to gauge my vehicles speed against, and the misapprehension that I was travelling kmph rather than mph.
Mesut Ozil with his wife Amine Gülşe posted on his birthday at his home in north London
“I am a German national and I am obviously used to driving vehicles that would display speed in kilometres as compared to miles per hour.”
“Due to the Covid-19 restrictions the motorway was effectively empty. The only explanation that I can give is that due to the absence of other vehicles on the road, my concentration must have momentarily lapsed. The vehicle I was driving has very low engine noise and it is automatic transmission.’
The Standard reported Ozil said he was only on the motorway briefly and due to exit at Mill Hill.
He pointed out that if he had been doing 97kph it would only have amounted to around 60mph.
Ozil with the huge car in happier times out for meetings in Central London last year
Mesut Ozil after a robbery attempt in North London next to the car later involved in speeding
The star, who lives in a £10 million property in Highgate pleaded guilty to speeding and will be sentenced this month.
But he said the current coronavirus pandemic meant he would find it very difficult for him and his young daughter to travel on public transport.
He added: ‘I travel to work on a daily basis by car and have personal commitments and a very young baby daughter, seven months old.
‘In the current climate I would be very much against travelling on public transport with my baby daughter. My wife does not drive and therefore by necessity I will have to undertake the driving to any healthcare appointments for my daughter.
‘I do not suggest that this in any way excuses my driving on the day at all — I fully accept that the speed my vehicle was travelling is wholly unacceptable.”