Ex-Leeds, Sunderland & Sheffield Wednesday player charged in court for multiple offences | OneFootball

Ian Poveda has denied all counts against him as he appeared in Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday

An ex-Manchester City academy graduate and winger with over 60 Championship appearances has appeared in court, having been charged with several driving offences.

Ian Poveda was a highly regarded wideman out of the City academy system and broke through in the EFL with Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa.

Initially signed to compete for places, Leeds' promotion to the Premier League made minutes hard to come by, and he bounced between multiple loan spells, including one with Sheffield Wednesday, before leaving Elland Road to sign for Sunderland.

He only made six senior appearances at the Stadium of Light, though, before taking his career to Colombia, the country he represents internationally.

Ian Poveda charged with driving offences in Leeds Crown Court

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Yesterday (September 23), Poveda, who currently plays for Atlético Nacional, appeared in Leeds Crown Court via video link. He denied four counts of perverting the course of justice and two further counts of fraud.

The 26-year-old is being accused of failing to disclose a driving disqualification in order to obtain insurance, displaying false number plates and conspiring to obtain insurance in someone else's name for a car he intended to drive while disqualified.

The four counts of perverting the course of justice took place between 8 July 2020 and 13 September 2023, while contracted at Leeds. The fraud charges took place on two occasions in 2023 and 2025 — the latter while at Sunderland.

Poveda appeared in court with his co-defendants Adekunle Adeyemi and Anthony Howe. Adeyemi denied perverting the course of justice, while Howe denied accusations of fraud.

Jude Robin Maris set a trial date of 4 December 2028, following the denial of the charges.

Ian Poveda's time in the EFL

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Poveda's youth career had him set up for big things, playing in the academies at Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona and then Manchester City. He made one senior appearance for City in the EFL Cup in January 2019 against Burton Albion.

His move to a Leeds side midway through their 2019/20 Championship-winning campaign helped continue that promise — as did being assigned the number seven shirt — as it indicated he'd be a big player for a Premier League club the following year.

That didn't prove to be the case, though. Poveda made 14 appearances, all from the bench, in the Premier League in 2020/21 and spent the following seasons on loan back in the Championship.

Injuries and being unfavoured led him to struggle to make an impact at Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday, and he was released by Leeds in the summer of 2024, joining Sunderland.

Again, Poveda was never really a major player, or even a supporting member, of the Black Cats' side during his time there, perhaps mainly due to the immediate promotion battle he was a part of at the Stadium of Light a couple of years ago. Evidently, he wasn't going to be playing much in the Premier League for Sunderland, either.

Where Ian Poveda plays now amidst driving offence charges

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Poveda, who has two caps for the Colombian national team, moved to Colombian top-flight side Internacional de Bogota in March. He scored three times in nine appearances for them before making the divisional switch to Atletico Nacional in the summer.

Like at his former club, the 26-year-old has netted twice and assisted once in domestic league phase action, including in his first start against his former club last Thursday.

He came off the bench on Monday in a 2-0 defeat to Llaneros FC, which was just their second defeat of the Clausura section of the campaign.

Nacional sit fourth, after topping the pile in the Apertura section of the campaign earlier this season. They have three games in hand on America de Cali, who top the table.