Former England footballer Trevor Sinclair has been ordered to do 150 hours’ community service and given a 20-month drink-driving ban for racially abusing a policeman after being arrested while twice over the limit.
The 44-year-old TV pundit asked the officer if he was being arrested because he was black and accusing the police of racism before urinating in a patrol car, Blackpool Magistrates’ Court heard.
Sinclair continued being racist after he was taken to the cells at Blackpool police station.
Sinclair, of Victory Boulevard, Lytham, Lancashire, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to drink-driving and a racially aggravated public order offence on November 12 last year.
Passing sentence, District Judge Jeff Brailsford ordered Sinclair to pay £500 compensation to Pc Gareth Evans and gave the defendant 150 hours’ community service for each offence, to run concurrently.
He also banned him from the road for 20 months.
Nick Freeman, representing Sinclair, said the “catalyst” for his behaviour that night was being subjected to racism, in front of his family, while out having a meal hours earlier.
Mr Freeman said a woman had approached the father-of-four, patting him on the head and calling him a “little chocolate man”.
After Sinclair’s guilty pleas, the prosecution dropped other charges including assault on a police officer, failing to provide a specimen and criminal damage.
District Judge Brailsford told Sinclair: “In a truly civilised society racism has absolutely no place whatsoever.
“You have worked long hours to try to eradicate what is a real scourge in society.
“It’s also to enormous credit the work you do to try to get rid of racism.
“I don’t know how anybody copes with that sort of thing and comes through it unmarked. So it is particularly sad when events unfolded that night, the words you used that night.
“I’m confident, from all the things I have heard, you are unlikely to be troubling the police and courts again.”