The Independent

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Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison has received a court fine after being caught driving through a red light in his £60,000 Chevrolet sportscar.

The 29-year-old Brazilian striker was recorded by a camera mounted on the A41 in Hendon, north London, driving his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray through traffic signals 1.5 seconds after they had turned red at 6.45pm on 15 April.

At a hearing conducted behind closed doors at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court last week, the Premier League footballer was convicted of failing to comply with a red light signal. He was given a £200 fine, three penalty points on his licence, and ordered to pay £120 in prosecution costs alongside an £80 victim surcharge.

Court papers reveal the Metropolitan Police gave the player options to avoid criminal prosecution for the traffic offence on the A41. A police worker told the court that Richarlison confirmed in writing that he was driving the car when it was filmed running the red light.

The Met stated that Richarlison was offered the chance to take a driver retraining course, which he did not accept. He was then permitted to settle the matter by paying a fine; however, while he transferred the money, he failed to submit a copy of his driving licence.

Consequently, Richarlison was prosecuted using the Single Justice Procedure, entering a written guilty plea without providing any mitigation for the offence.

Richarlison was a key figure in Tottenham’s successful bid for Premier League survival last season. However, the striker has been frozen out under Roberto De Zerbi this term, following a proposed move back to former club Everton that fell through at the 11th hour.

He has not featured for Tottenham since starting their 3-0 loss to Brentford on the opening day of the season.

Richarlison has spent the last four years at Spurs since joining from Everton back in 2022. He also has 54 caps for Brazil, and has scored 20 goals for his country.

However, he has not played for Brazil since October 2025 after falling out of favour with manager Carlo Ancelotti ahead of the World Cup earlier this year.

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Roberto De Zerbi has defended Tottenham Hotspur’s medical staff despite an ongoing injury crisis.

Spurs travel to rivals Chelsea on Saturday night, but will be without several key figures and Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison are doubts following disrupted training this week after they featured in Monday’s win over Coventry.

Destiny Udogie remains sidelined and Tosin Adarabioyo may not recover in time. Pedro Porro is available in a welcome boost, but fitness problems have been a frequent issue for Tottenham this season and during recent campaigns.

Yet De Zerbi said: “It’s football. I am convinced our medical staff this season is high level.

“I follow them. I believe in them. I have big confidence because I know how they are working.

“I think they are good enough to believe in them. Nothing more. We are suffering a normal situation in football.”

De Zerbi went on to highlight three players and the unique circumstances surrounding their fitness issues.

Porro “suffered in the World Cup the muscular problem of the hamstring”, which was behind his absence at the start of the season.

The Spanish right-back returned against Aston Villa, but “pushed to come back before the right time and he suffered another injury.”

De Zerbi pointed out: “What is the responsibility of the medical team?”

On the sidelined Lucas Bergvall, De Zerbi added: “In the beginning of the (Manchester United) game, in the tackle, he turned his knee and felt pain.

“He finished the game and the day after he felt pain. What is the responsibility of the medical staff? Nothing.

“(Andy) Robertson played four games in a row with the national team.

“(Against Coventry) was fatigued. It’s normal fatigue for a player who played six games in 20 days.

“At the end of this season we make the total report and we analyse the situation but so far we can’t say anything bad about the medical staff or another reason.”

What cannot be debated is Tottenham’s horrendous away record at Chelsea which includes only one win in 41 matches at Stamford Bridge but De Zerbi, who won there with Brighton in 2023, has a positive experience to lean on.

“When I was the coach of Foggia. League Three against League Two, many, many times Foggia did not win in the (Bari) stadium but it was one motivation more, not one pressure more,” De Zerbi said. “And yes, we won (in 2015).”

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Roberto De Zerbi has revealed a ban he put in place phones during Tottenham’s warm weather training camp in Marbella in his latest attempt to improve the camp’s spirit.

Spurs committed more than £380million on new signings this summer with 10 players joining, but they will start Monday’s home fixture with Coventry at the bottom of the Premier League.

The manager has revealed he banned phones from mealtime during Tottenham’s trip to Marbella.

“We worked on the pitch, we stayed together – we removed phones from breakfast, lunch and dinner to stay together because now it is like (phone) all the time,” De Zerbi told a press conference.

“We had two or three important meetings speaking about football, our situation and how everyone has to take responsibility. And nothing more. There were some dinners just for the players, some dinners just for the staff.

“As a coach you understand you have to improve, you have to change the situation and you try to find all solutions.

“I already did this type of training camp two times with Marseille and it was a good solution. I spoke with the club, with Vinai (Venkatesham), with Johan (Lange), with the owner and together we took the decision, but it’s nothing special.

“It’s just to spend more time together because in pre-season we couldn’t. We had many new players and players who came back from the World Cup. Three or four days together without family, putting the club at the top of their priorities, is normal and is good.”

Asked if players were able to go out independently in Marbella, De Zerbi said: “Yes, with freedom. With no military rules. I love freedom.”

Fit-again Dejan Kulusevski was part of the Tottenham squad in Spain along with James Maddison, who should face old club Coventry but is yet to start for Spurs since he damaged anterior cruciate ligaments in 2025 and Xavi Simons remains absent with the same injury.

“I am very close with Xavi Simons for example in this moment. I follow him step by step in his journey as an injured player. Like Maddison, because the management of Maddison is totally different. He is another special player and now is available to play,” De Zerbi said.

“Kulusevski was a very important player, even last season when he was injured. It is a part of this job for the players, but at the same time can be a crucial moment to become better, to become stronger.

“You need to play many games to reach the best physical condition but there are players able to be important, even if they play 10, 15 or 20 minutes and James is one player like this.

“Right now he is ready to start the game, but I don’t know if we will start with him. I’m waiting for that moment.”

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