Top keeper caught drink driving
Top goalkeeper Jordan Archer was caught drink driving after he got in his car after a night out to try and find his lost phone.
The 28-year-old QPR and Scotland player was pulled over by police in his black Mercedes GLE near St James’s Park, central London, at 5.30am on 5 September.
Thandi Lubimbi, prosecuting, said: ‘He appeared to have glazed eyes and they could smell alcohol.’
The keeper’s blood alcohol level was 45 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
The legal limit is 35mg in 100ml of breath.
Archer admitted downing a cocktail of drinks but said he only got into his car because he left his phone in an Uber and was trying to find it
The shot stopper was due to stand trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court but admitted drink driving.
John Dye, defending, said Archer ‘rather surprisingly, rather refreshingly perhaps, was very candid about what he’d had to drink’.
He had necked two bottles of beer, four vodka Redbulls and two tequila shots before taking an Uber home.
Mr Dye said: ‘He had been out, he had been drinking.
‘He had left his phone in that Uber taxi.
‘He was concerned about losing his phone.
‘He tried to find his iPhone on his laptop.
‘He continued to try and phone it.
‘That’s why he was out trying to find his mobile phone.’
Mr Dye said the keeper is in the ‘public eye’ and was concerned about recovering the phone as it contained ‘private information’.
‘He has no excuse. He’s apologetic for what it’s worth.
‘He really needs his vehicle to get to the training ground.’
Deputy District Judge Neeta Minhas fined Archer £4,050, based on his weekly income of £3,000.
She also disqualified him from driving for 14 months, but he has the option to go on a drink driving course which will reduce the disqualification by 14 weeks.
If he successfully completes the course, he can reapply for his driving licence on 8 January 2023.
Archer, of Wandsworth, was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £775 and a £190 victim surcharge.
He has represented Scotland at U19, U20 and U21 levels, and received his first call up to the senior side in August 2017.
Archer joined QPR on a two-year deal in July 2021. The Hoops are currently fourth in the Championship.
