ASTON Villa footballer Sasa Curcic was fined £360 for speeding - then offered to play for Bicester Town if his Premiership career was ended as a result!
The Serb international, who earns £450,000 a year, was clocked doing 96mph in a P-reg Mercedes 320.
Christian Horne, prosecuting, told Bicester magistrates that traffic police carrying out checks with laser detection equipment caught Curcic speeding southbound on the M40 at Bucknell on April 16 last year.
Ron Trenchard, defending, said Curcic, who does not speak English well, used his car a lot to meet friends from his own country who were living throughout the UK.
He said: "A lot of them are footballers. You just have to look at the teamsheets on a Saturday afternoon to see they are scattered around." The case had already been adjourned three times. Mr Trenchard said medical treatment had prevented Mr Curcic from appearing earlier.
The player recently underwent an operation to straighten his nose.
Magistrates imposed five penalty points on his licence.
Afterwards Mr Trenchard spoke to the Oxford Mail on behalf of his client.
He said: "If this case did have an adverse effect on his career at Aston Villa then Mr Curcic would consider Bicester Town FC as an option. Obviously, it would be subject to satisfactory terms - and as long as playing for them would not affect his international career."
But Wally Hammond, chairman of Bicester Town, said it was totally out of the question.
He said: "The idea of a player from the Premiership playing at Bicester Town Football Club is ludicrous."
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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