Mario Balotelli fined after being caught driving his Ferrari at up to 125mph in a road race against friend’s Lamborghini
Nice star picked up 18 fines for traffic offences in Italy from 2012 to 2013 and received a fine and five points on this occasion.`
MARIO BALOTELLI has been caught speeding AGAIN after police caught him speeding in his Ferrari while racing his pal’s Lamborghini at speeds of 105-125mph.
The Nice striker picked up 18 fines for traffic offences – mostly speeding – in the space of two years in Italy in 2012 and 2013, often on the same A4 road.
The police told AFP of the recent incident and said the forward was stopped by a highway patrol on the A4 highway near the northern Italian town of Vicenza on Saturday, a local officer told AFP.
Media reports claimed Balotelli had been doing up to 125mph but had escaped with a fine and five penalty points because he had only been registered at 105mph.
The police confirmed the star had been caught and fined, along with the Lamborghini driver, but described accounts of the incident as “exaggerated”.
Balotelli, who turns 27 on Saturday, concurred.
On Instagram, Balotelli said: “Given that doing 200kmh (125mph) on a motorway is a criminal offence, it is absolutely untrue.
The striker said the version of events leaked to the Italian media must have come from “jealous people”.
He said: “Jealous of what I don’t know, maybe the car, I don’t know.
“The (police) check was a normal one, I went on my way calmly. Italian newspapers always make up rubbish. They never check if a report is true or false. It’s shame.
“The Italians will never change. I’m good in France, really good.”
Police said they could not say exactly how fast Balotelli had been going but confirmed he had been allowed to continue his journey after paying his fine and having five penalty points registered on his licence.
In 2015, when he was playing for Liverpool, he was banned from driving for 28 days after being clocked driving at 109mph on the M62 motorway in northern England.
The Vicenza police spokesman said that, in contrast to some of his previous encounters with traffic police, Balotelli had apologised and calmly accepted his punishment.