Lyon Star Govou Arrested For Drunk Driving

As Christmas approach it’s traditionally the time of year that the authorities try to stamp down on drink driving. Olympique Lyonnais winger Sidney Govou clearly did not get the message as he was caught well over the legal limit on Sunday evening following les Gones’ dreadful goalless clash with Olympique de Marseille.

Goal France reports that the seven time Ligue 1 winner was found in his Audi S5 zigzagging across a bus lane in Lyon’s ninth district and even threatened that the police station could be closed by OL if the officers arrested him! Of course, little heed was paid to his drunken ramblings and a blood test showed him to have 2.6 grams of alcohol per litre of blood, a total that far exceeds the legal limit of 0.5 grams per litre.

As a result, the 29 year-old was detained in police custody on Sunday night and was only released late on Monday morning once he had sobered up.

Sheepishly, Govou gave a 40 second impromptu monologue to the press this morning according to l’Equipe. “I want to apologise for my lack of though that I displayed on the evening of Sunday to Monday,” he explained. “I wish to apologise first to my family, who are woefully disappointed with my conduct. I also wish to apologise publicly to the club and the fans, who are always behind us. It is my fault; I have conveyed the club in a bad light. I would once again like to say sorry.”

The board at Lyon are notoriously slow to respond to such crises and have not released a statement at the time of writing. Indeed, they would not comment on the wrongful arrest of John Mensah earlier this season when he was briefly detained in a police cell having been accused of driving a stolen vehicle.

As for Govou, his future at the Stade Gerland is unclear. He has been making noises about leaving for England, with Portsmouth and Fulham cited as possible destinations. This incident leaves him in a state of limbo with les Gones while jeopardising his chances of a move elsewhere.

Robin Bairner, Goal.com