Former England and Arsenal star Ian Wright was furious on Monday after being wrongly prosecuted for throwing a paper cup from his Bentley.
The 41-year-old and his wife, Deborah, had been due to appear in court this week to deny the charges but both were cleared when a mystery person owned up to littering and was fined £50.
“This case must have cost thousands, and what have they got back from the person who did it? Fifty quid,” Wright told the London Evening Standard.
“Is that what my taxpayer’s money is going on? How many other people have gone through this? It’s a joke.”
Wright, who retired in 2000 and last week saw his 185-goal Arsenal scoring record beaten by France striker Thierry Henry, described the claim that the offending paper cup came from his car as “ridiculous”.
“People have been talking to my kids and saying I was a litter bug. But I don’t like it at all when you see someone throwing something out of a car,” he told the newspaper.
Proceedings were brought against the Wrights last year by Lewisham council in south-east London. — AFP