England footballer caught speeding blames 'work pressures'

An England footballer caught speeding at 90mph in his £140,000 Mercedes blamed his actions on "work pressures" as he feared the consequences of arriving late for training, a court heard yesterday.

Callum Hudson-Odoi, who plays for Chelsea FC, faces a possible driving ban after police pulled him over last August for speeding in a 50pmh zone.

The 20-year-old, who had signed a five year contract with Chelsea worth £120,000 per week 11 months before the incident, admitted he felt “ashamed” of what happened.

“Prior to the offence, “I was going through an extremely difficult period in my life for personal reasons,” he wrote in a statement to Bromley Magistrates Court.

“My employers were fully aware of these problems and I would say that I was under significant pressure at work,” he added.

Hudson-Odoi said he was running late to training due to road closures on August 6 and worried “arriving late would only compound the problems I was having at work”.

Three months earlier, the England winger had been arrested over a rape allegation while breaching lockdown with a model he had met online.

The Met Police later confirmed they would be taking no further action against Hudson-Odoi.

Hudson-Odoi had also been one of the first Premier League footballers to test positive for Covid-19 in March 2020, shortly before all games were called off.

PC Shane Elsworth, who had stopped Hudson-Odoi’s car on a 50mph stretch of the A3, said: “There were no other vehicles traveling at anywhere near the same speed as this vehicle.”

Hudson-Odoi explained he had “decided to try and make up some time” after the road closure, and is “ashamed of the choice I made”.

“Being stopped by the police officer for this offence only compounded my problems and made my situation worse”, he wrote to the court in March this year.

In May 2019 Hudson-Odoi was fined £700 and given three points on his licence for speeding along the exact same stretch of the A3.

On that occasion he told the court: “Total mistake and very sorry”.

Due to the speed he was travelling, Hudson-Odoi could face a driving ban. He has pleaded guilty to the offence of speeding.

His latest court case, dealt with originally under the Single Justice Procedure, has been adjourned for an open court hearing at Lavender Hill magistrates court on July 7.

Callum Hudson-Odoi's representatives have been approached for comment.

Chelsea FC declined to comment