Former West Ham striker facing trial after motoring conviction quashed

Former West Ham player Michail Antonio has had a motoring conviction quashed after telling a court he almost died in a car crash.

The ex-Premier League footballer was convicted of not giving information to police after his Lamborghini Urus was caught speeding in Birmingham in March last year.

He was due to be sentenced after being found guilty in his absence of failing to identify who was behind the wheel when his car was clocked doing 50mph in a 40mph zone.

But the 36-year-old Jamaica international told Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Friday he had given the vehicle to a car company three months before the offence so they could arrange for it to be sold.

Antonio, who has been playing in the Qatari league after leaving West Ham last summer, told the court he was unable to drive at the time because he had a badly broken leg and did not attend an earlier court hearing because he was out of the country.

A judge removed Antonio's conviction and he now faces another hearing where the case will be reheard.

The striker, who has also played for Reading, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday, told the court: "Can I tell you the whole situation?

"I almost died in a car crash on the 7th of December [2025].

"On the 1st of March I wasn't even physically driving at the time because I broke my femur - I wasn't allowed to drive."

Telling the court his partner sent a letter from the authorities to the car company and told them to sort it out, Antonio added: "We got a summons for court in September. I don't think I was around.

"I was trying to focus on my actual career and my life. I didn't think about anything outside of that."

Responding to Antonio's remarks, the judge gave him the opportunity to appeal to the crown court or for his conviction to be set aside.

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Antonio chose to plead not guilty and will now face trial at the same court on 2 March next year.

Near the end of the short hearing, Antonio questioned whether the press were allowed to be present and was then asked by the judge if he was famous.

Antonio responded: "Yeah, I am a footballer. I used to play for West Ham."

A charge of speeding relating to the Lamborghini, recorded doing an average of 50mph in a 40mph zone in Birmingham on 1 March 2025, was dropped by prosecutors at a previous hearing.

Antonio spent three weeks in hospital in December 2024 after crashing a Ferrari in Epping Forest in Essex, suffering a badly broken leg.

After the crash he said in an Instagram post that he realised that he had "spent so many years taking life for granted" but is now grateful for just "being alive".

(c) Sky News 2026: Former West Ham striker facing trial after motoring conviction quashed