#BBB NEWS| Mario Balotelli Banned From Driving For 28 Days [PHOTO]

Mario Balotelli has been fined £800 and banned from driving for 28 days after he was caught doing speeds of 109mph in his Ferrari.

The Liverpool striker was due to attend Wirral Magistrates court today, having been convicted in his absence last week.

The 24-year-old Italian did not appear though, with his solicitor Mike Hogan telling magistrates he had not received the summons.

And the first Balotelli knew of his court date was when he received an adjournment notice. Balotelli was pulled over by police shortly after midnight on December 3, last year 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 – who earns £110,000 a week at Anfield – 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."

Balotelli is no stranger to controversy, having made the headlines for his off-field antics on numerous occasions over the years.

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."



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