A Liverpool FC player has been fined after watching a video while driving.
Giorgi Mamardashvili was pulled over by police at around 3.45pm on January 27 after being spotted holding his phone near the wheel of his black Audi.
The goalkeeper had been driving on the southbound carriageway of the M6 between Junctions 23 and 21 at the time and was put in the back of a police car.
Mamardashvili gave his name and identified himself through his Georgian driving licence when stopped by PC Ree from Cheshire Constabulary.
“Just prior to Junction 22, I was in lane three of three when I passed a black Audi which was travelling in lane two,” the officer noted in a statement.
“Lane one was clear of traffic, meaning that the Audi should have moved over to lane one and this caught my attention.
“As I drove past the Audi, I noticed that the driver had his mobile phone in his hand, he was holding it near the centre of his steering wheel, and the driver appeared to be watching something on the screen whilst he was driving at motorway speed.
“When it was safe to do so, I stopped the vehicle on the hard shoulder and I got out to speak with the driver who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, and I asked the male to sit in the rear of my police vehicle.”
Mamardashvili did not respond to a prosecution notice and his case was dealt with in a private hearing of the Single Justice Procedure last Friday (May 22).
The 25-year-old was found guilty on the written evidence, which also noted that his stop was captured on video by the police officer’s bodycam.
He received a £440 fine as well as six penalty points on his licence and was also ordered to pay £120 costs and a £176 victim surcharge.