Former SAFC coach Leroy Lita charged with driving while disqualified on day of drink-drive ban | OneFootball

Former Sunderland AFC coach Leroy Lita has been charged with driving while disqualified on the same day he was banned for drink-driving.

According to Sunderland Echo, the 41-year-old gave his address as the club’s Academy of Light during a June hearing at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, having worked last season as a professional development coach with young players.

He had initially denied the drink-driving charge, arguing police had erred with his breath test, saying he believed a roadside reading was 38mcg rather than the 74mcg recorded at the station. On the morning of 23 June he returned to court and changed his plea to guilty.

He was banned from driving for 18 months and fined £777, with a £311 victim surcharge and £300 costs. Judge Passfield warned that driving while disqualified could result in a jail term.

Later that day he was arrested on the A1(M) between junctions 45 and 46 near Wetherby. He was charged with driving while disqualified and driving without third party insurance, and is due to appear at York Magistrates’ Court on 10 August.

Lita is no longer employed by Sunderland. He enjoyed a 16-year career as a striker, playing in the Premier League for Reading and also representing Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City. His conviction followed a stop and breath test on Shields Road, near Cleadon, at 11.50pm on 18 January.

Source: Sunderland Echo

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