NEWCASTLE’S IVORY COAST midfielder Cheick Tiote has been handed a suspended seven-month prison sentence after he admitted possessing a fake driving licence.
Tiote bought the fake Belgian licence for €15,000 (£12,800) and then attempted to swap the forgery for a full UK licence, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Tony Hawks, prosecuting, said that when passing through Belgium, the 27-year-old met a man near Brussels airport and handed over the cash and a photograph of himself.
He then attempted to send it off to the DVLA in Swansea with an application for a UK licence.
“The licence was a very good forgery but there were a number of features that showed it was a forgery,” said Mr Hawks.
“The offence is aggravated by what he has done as he sought to change base metal into gold.”
Suspending the imprisonment for 18 months, Judge James Goss QC told Tiote that he would have to complete 180 hours of unpaid community work.
“I give you credit for your plea of guilty, which has saved you from an immediate sentence of imprisonment,” he said.
“In that way you will be punished and I have no doubt that, using your considerable talent, you will be able to assist others in the community by encouraging them and passing on your skills that way.”
As a fan of the League of Ireland I am delighted with this, however this is not the first time Finn Harps have been down this road, they now need to put a suitable business pan together in order to run the club with in its mean, unfortunately that may mean reducing the players and managers budget dramatically. I think Monaghan Utd may be actually the only team in the league that live within their means
As for the could of been spent on other causes, I am not 100% sure but is there not money set aside for different departments i.e. Roads, Sport & Reconciliation etc., etc.
From what I gather this was a special one off payment. They should have just burnt the money at least they’d have got some warmth off it! Just delaying the inevitable, Finn Harps is not sustainable as a business.
As for the plans for a 5,000 seater stadium in Ballybofey??! Pfft!
Disgraceful waste of taxpayers money! The roads are in sh*te and the council don’t have enough money to fix bloody potholes, yet they have 20K to waste on a completely unsustainable business. How beneficial to the local community is 100-200 people turning up to Finn Park every couple of weeks for a few months a year!?!