Gerard Piqué went to Barcelona's "City of Justice" today where he was sentenced for driving with no points on his license1. The Barça player admitted one count of a crime against traffic safety and accepted the fine.
The footballer was sentenced after a short oral hearing today to a fine of 48,000 euros (£42,500; $54,500).
EFE
Prosecutors had asked for a 12-month-long fine of 200 euros a day, for a total of 72,000€. Piqué, by accepting the charge, had this almost halved.
The player entered the court shortly before 1pm and had appeared before the judge and was able to leave again within fifteen minutes. Although he had been aiming for discretion, that was scuppered by the around fifty journalists waiting at the building's two entrances.
GTRES
Suspended for nine months
The sentence records that Piqué ended up without points on his license on 13th July 2017. He was notified again personally of this on 9th March 2018 when his physical license was taken away.
He was then seen driving his Audi by police on 31st June on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia just before 3pm, leading to this current lawsuit.
EFE
Today, Piqué accepted the charge and, as such, admitted that he could have been driving for up to nine months without points on his licence and then four more after his physical license had been taken away.
Translator's note: 1. In Spain, drivers start with a certain number of points on their license and lose them with each infraction. When a driver has zero points left, they have the option to appeal. If they don't within 10 days or their appeal is not accepted, they lose their license for a period of time.