Paul Scholes convicted twice in two days

Paul Scholes has rarely shied away from controversy since hanging up his boots, whether through his punditry work or his occasional social media spats.

Last season, the Manchester United legend found himself embroiled in a public back-and-forth with current United defender Lisandro Martinez.

It began when Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt mocked Martinez’s height ahead of a Manchester derby, comments that clearly stuck with the Argentine.

After keeping Erling Haaland quiet in a 2-0 win over City, Martinez invited Scholes to repeat the jibes to his face, prompting a fiery response from the former midfielder on social media.

It’s the kind of headline Scholes has become accustomed to generating in retirement, though his latest appearance in the news comes for very different reasons.

Paul Scholes convicted

The 51-year-old has been handed a six-month road ban after picking up two separate driving convictions within the space of two days, as reported by The Telegraph.

Scholes was caught speeding in a Range Rover on the evening of 3 March, during a late-night drive through Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire.

A second offence followed when his Mercedes broke the speed limit on Mossley Road near Ashton-under-Lyne on the morning of 14 November last year.

He received the six-month ban and fines for the first offence at Bradford Magistrates’ Court on 12 August, before picking up six penalty points and further fines at Manchester Magistrates’ Court the following day.

In total, fines, costs and court fees across both cases came to £1,472.

Scholes was prosecuted in private hearings under the Single Justice Procedure, did not enter pleas to either charge, and was convicted in his absence.

Court documents showed the Range Rover was clocked speeding on the A649 Halifax Road just after 23:30 BST, with Scholes confirming to police that he had been the driver.

Because he was already carrying penalty points, described in court papers as being a “totter”, Scholes wasn’t eligible for a speed awareness course and instead faced an automatic ban.

In the second case, police said two letters sent to his home went unanswered, and while the speeding allegation itself was later dropped, prosecutors pursued the case for his failure to respond.