Royston Drenthe has been the driving force behind much of Hercules’ success this season but could now find himself in trouble after hitting top gear off the pitch too. The Dutch footballer reportedly hit speeds of 180km/h in his sports car following the Copa del Rey clash with Malaga last week and was caught breaking six red lights!
While his excuse that he was rushing a friend to hospital might well be valid, Drenthe apparently insulted both of the police officers who stopped him and told them he would call their superior if they didn’t leave him alone. There have also been reports that the friend was not in a ‘critical condition’ as stated by the footballer, but displayed signs of drunkenness and having consumed too much alcohol.
Adding to that story is the fact that Drenthe was stopped at 4.20am and couldn’t be halted by police initially as he was going so quickly.
The player himself has come out and apologised for the incident and Hercules have not yet imposed a sanction – although a meeting is set to take place tomorrow where the incident could be discussed.
Whatever the reasons for Drenthe’s late-night driving, it is bad press for a player that has been having a very successful season so far. His control in the midfield has helped Hercules to wins over Barcelona and Sevilla and the last thing he, or the club, needs now is to worry about off the pitch issues.
While the reasons for his driving will be under scrutiny in the next couple of days, there is little doubt that Drenthe should have considered the consequences of his actions before stepping into his car. Police reports have confirmed that the player did test negative for alcohol but, even so, stories of a footballer driving at 4.00 am are bound to start unwanted rumours.
Drenthe’s time at Real Madrid was marred by his performances on the pitch, rather than any issues off it, and now that he has got the first part right, it would be a shame if he let himself down elsewhere.
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