PARIS (AP) - U.S. soccer player Charlie Davies was fined $1,040 and his license was suspended by French police because of a speeding violation in which he said a teammate was driving.
Davies was with Sochaux teammate Jacques Faty when they were pulled over in the early hours of Oct. 3 after being clocked at 125 mph in France’s Jura region. Faty and Davies have both said Faty was driving, but they switched positions because Faty thought his license was still suspended from a previous speeding infraction.
A French police official, who was not authorized to be publicly identified, said Monday that Davies has been fined. The official said neither player has officially contradicted the original version of events to police.
The 24-year-old Davies was a passenger in a car accident Oct. 13, 2009 in which another passenger died. Davies was left with two broken bones in his right leg, a broken and dislocated left elbow, a broken nose, forehead and eye socket, a ruptured bladder and bleeding on the brain.
He returned to training with Sochaux in March but missed the World Cup and has not played for either Sochaux’s first team or the national team since.
Over the weekend, Davies played for Sochaux’s reserves in a 2-0 win against Auxerre, while Faty played for Senegal in its 7-0 win over Mauritius in African Cup of Nations qualifying.
“Assisted on game winner today. We won 2-0. My best outing yet!” Davies said on his Twitter account after Sunday’s game. “Feeling great and I’m so very close to 1st team action.”
Le Progres newspaper reported on its website Sunday that Davies and Faty could face six months in jail and a far heavier fine of $10,400 each for lying to police. The police official, however, said he was not aware of any further investigation.
Davies was behind the wheel when he and Faty were questioned by the police, and so only Davies has been fined, the police official said.
Sochaux players had four days off after beating Lens 3-0 on Oct. 2. Davies flew to Boston, where he played at Boston College. Davies said he doesn’t drive in France and, knowing Faty was going back to Paris, he asked for a ride.
Faty thought he would be jailed but police would only fine Davies, the U.S. player told The Associated Press. Faty told the AP he had panicked and plans to go to police this week to clear up the matter.
Davies said he was lying down in the passenger seat of the Audi Q7 as they drove. The windows of the SUV were tinted, so police couldn’t see the players switching seats. Davies said he was hesitant about agreeing to the switch.
Davies said the police asked if he knew how fast he had been going. Davies said he didn’t, and the police took both players to the police station.
While there, police ran Faty’s record and told him his license was no longer suspended. Davies was told his license would be suspended, and he wouldn’t be able to drive in France for six months.
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