Vidal loses licence; stays in Copa after car crash

AFP, SANTIAGO: Chilean football star Arturo Vidal made a tearful apology Wednesday after he saw his driver’s licence suspended for crashing his Ferrari while driving under the influence, but he remained on the national team.
After spending the night in jail, the Juventus midfielder appeared in court in Santiago, where the judge freed him from custody but suspended his license and ordered him to report to the Chilean consulate in Milan every month under the terms of his release.
Vidal, who is home from Italy playing with the Chilean national team in the Copa America, collided with another car late Tuesday as he and his wife, Maria Teresa Matus, returned from a night out at a casino.
The accident has upended the South American championship in Chile, where the host nation’s fans have pinned their hopes on Vidal to help bring them their first-ever continental title.
Vidal, who is the leading scorer in the tournament, was briefly taken to hospital along with his wife following the accident, then carted off to jail in the back of a police car.
Officials have not disclosed how much alcohol the 28-year-old star had in his blood.
The accident left his red Ferrari badly mangled on the driver’s side, its airbags deployed.
After his court appearance Wednesday morning, Vidal rushed off to Chile’s training camp, where he tearfully took responsibility for the accident and apologized to his team and the country.
“I let everyone down,” he said.
“I want to tell you what happened. Yesterday I went to the casino. I had two drinks,” he told journalists, struggling to get his words out.
“I put my wife’s life at risk, a lot of people’s lives at risk. I’m very sorry.”
Vidal does not face jail time because only he and his wife were hurt. He suffered “minor injuries” and his wife has “moderately serious injuries,” police Colonel Ricardo Gonzalez told reporters.
Chile has a zero tolerance law on drunk driving. On Wednesday the court took Vidal’s license away pending further investigation. If convicted, his license could be suspended for up to two years.
The tone of Vidal’s apology was markedly different from a YouTube video he posted proclaiming his innocence after the accident.
“It was not my fault,” he said in the recording, thanking his supporters and giving a thumbs up.

Vidal loses licence; stays in Copa after car crash

AFP, SANTIAGO: Chilean football star Arturo Vidal made a tearful apology Wednesday after he saw his drivers licence suspended for crashing his Ferrari while driving under the influence, but he remained on the national team. After spending the night in jail, the Juventus midfielder appeared in court in Santiago, where the judge freed him from custody but suspended his license and ordered him to report to the Chilean consulate in Milan every month under the terms of his release. Vidal, who is home from Italy playing with the Chilean national team in the Copa America, collided with another car late Tuesday as he and his wife, Maria Teresa Matus, returned from a night out at a casino. The accident has upended the South American championship in Chile, where the host nations fans have pinned their hopes on Vidal to help bring them their first-ever continental title. Vidal, who is the leading scorer in the tournament, was briefly taken to hospital along with his wife following the accident, then carted off to jail in the back of a police car. Officials have not disclosed how much alcohol the 28-year-old star had in his blood. The accident left his red Ferrari badly mangled on the drivers side, its airbags deployed. After his court appearance Wednesday morning, Vidal rushed off to Chiles training camp, where he tearfully took responsibility for the accident and apologized to his team and the country. I let everyone down, he said. I want to tell you what happened. Yesterday I went to the casino. I had two drinks, he told journalists, struggling to get his words out. I put my wifes life at risk, a lot of peoples lives at risk. Im very sorry. Vidal does not face jail time because only he and his wife were hurt. He suffered minor injuries and his wife has moderately serious injuries, police Colonel Ricardo Gonzalez told reporters. Chile has a zero tolerance law on drunk driving. On Wednesday the court took Vidals license away pending further investigation. If convicted, his license could be suspended for up to two years. The tone of Vidals apology was markedly different from a YouTube video he posted proclaiming his innocence after the accident. It was not my fault, he said in the recording, thanking his supporters and giving a thumbs up.