Arrest warrant issued for former England Under-21 international footballer

Former Premier League footballer Saido Berahino has an arrest warrant in his name for skipping court day. For his second drunk driving incident, Berahino had received a fine of £75,870 and was supposed to appear in Willesden Magistrates' Court in northwest London. However, neither did Berahino pay the fine nor did he show up in court. This resulted in the arrest warrant being issued.

In February, Berahino was arrested in central London outside the VQ restaurant. He was driving his Range Rover, with his partner in the vehicle. Upon being tested for alcohol, it was found that he was driving while being over the limit. The footballer claimed that he was driving back home in an inebriated state because he had been robbed of jewellery. He was still arrested and held for drunk driving since it was his second offence.

The court ruled that it was not necessary for Berahino to be driving, since his partner could have driven them back. Berahino's partner had been behind the wheel earlier in the evening, so it was not necessary for him to be driving. Not only was he slapped with a hefty fine, the footballer was also barred from driving for 30 months. His failure to appear in court has now put him in a worse situation.

As reported by the Mirror the court had issued the warrant due to Berahino's negligence towards prior warnings. Berahino was supposed to pay the fine by September 7. Upon failing to do so, he was supposed to appear in court.

The Burundi-born footballer had migrated to the United Kingdom with his family as a child. He played for the national Under-21 team on various occasions. He played for West Brom before his transfer to Stoke City.

In August, he left the Premier League club to join Belgian First Divison club Zulte Waregem. Stoke City released the footballer after his drunk driving charges. He received £2.5m from Stoke City when he was released. He eventually joined Waregem on a free transfer.