Mario Balotelli has been banned from driving after being clocked doing 109mph on the motorway.
The Liverpool striker claimed that he did not realise how fast he was travelling because his sports car is calibrated in kilometres rather than miles per hour.
The 24-year-old did not appear in court as he was slapped with a 28-day driving ban and £800 fine.
The Italian international, who earns £110,000-a-week at Anfield, was convicted of speeding in his absence last week by Wirral Magistrates Court.
His lawyer Mik Hogan told masgistrates that Balotelli had failed to attend on the previous occasion because he had not received the court summons. He said the first the star knew of his court date was when he received an adjournment notice in the post.
Balotelli was pulled over by police shortly after midnight on December 3, 2014 on the M62 at Tarbock Island, Merseyside. He had been driving his high performance left-hand drive Ferrari.
The court heard that super-car’s speedometer is calibrated in kilometres per hour – and he had not been aware that the speed had crept up so much.
Balotelli was fined £800, ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge and £100 court costs.
His solicitor asked the court for 28 days for payment to be made.
Balotelli was said to have been co-operative with police and would have entered a guilty plea had he known about the first court hearing.
The court heard there had been issues with his mail following his move to a recently constructed home in Formby which could have been to blame for him missing his day in court.
“It wasn’t a case of him simply ignoring an important document sent by the court,” said Mr Hogan. “Had he received the summons in the first place he would have pleaded guilty on his first appearance. Mr Balotelli has asked me to apologise.
“The police officers pulled him over just after midnight. He may have been in a rush to get home and very quickly the speed crept up. There’s no suggestion that he makes a habit of doing this.”
Controversial
Balotelli is no stranger to controversy, however, having made the headlines for his off-field antics on numerous occasions over the years.
Balotelli earns £110,000-a-week playing for Liverpool and is also a regular in the Italian squad
In January, it was reported that the Anfield star – who has no previous convictions in the UK – was being chased by the Italian authorities over unpaid speeding fines totalling £8,000.
His solicitor added: “Mr Balotelli will have to take this on the chin but he does have a clean record.
“Any disqualification, whether he was a footballer or not, would cause an inconvenience.
“He is in a fortunate or unfortunate position of being something of a celebrity. The loss of his ability to drive would have an impact on his privacy.”
