Michail Antonio has been found guilty of failing to identify the driver of his Lamborghini when it was suspected of involvement in a motoring offence
Former West Ham forward Michail Antonio has been found guilty of failing to disclose the driver of his Lamborghini supercar following an alleged motoring offense in central London.
The 36-year-old was prosecuted by the Metropolitan Police for failing to assist an investigation after his vehicle was spotted being driven without due care and attention in Pall Mall late one night last November.
Appearing before Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court, Antonio denied being behind the wheel, explaining that he was in Manchester while his cousin loaned the vehicle out.
The footballer added that he never received the original police notice requesting the driver’s details, maintaining that the letter must have been lost in the post.
And he gave evidence that he was “shocked” to discover, in February, that he had been charged with a failure to identify the driver.
Antonio told the court he left his cousin to reply to the charge, and believes he then provided details of the guilty driver.
But after a short trial, Antonio was found guilty by magistrates of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of a vehicle when required.
Magistrate Ian Comfort said the panel was sure the police letter had arrived, and found that Antonio had failed to respond according to the legal requirements.
Antonio already has six penalty points on his licence, after being convicted of driving without insurance in July 2025. He now faces the prospect of an automatic driving ban.
Antonio was the registered keeper of the Lamborghini Urus when it was involved in an incident on Pall Mall at 12.38am on November 5 last year.
The Met wrote to him on November 12 last year to seek the identity of the driver, and commenced a criminal prosecution when it did not receive a response.
Giving evidence, Antonio said he was visiting his children in Manchester from November 3 to 6 last year, and said he had handed over the keys to the Lamborghini to Tarique Josephs who runs a company loaning out cars.
He said he called Josephs in February after receiving a notice of the criminal charge.
“I was in shock”, Antonio said, of his reaction to finding out he was being prosecuted. “How can I be charged with something I haven’t done?
“This is the first time I was aware of that.”
He gave evidence that Josephs “rents my car every now and then”, telling the court: “When someone calls up for a Lamborghini, he will call me and say can I use your Lamborghini.
“I worked out he had the car at the time, he has come across to me to collect the forms, and said he would send the details.”
Josephs told the court he filled out the response to the prosecution, entering a not guilty plea and giving a brief explanation that the car had been on loan.
When questioned why he had not mentioned the other driver’s details on the form, he claimed to have included a copy of the loan agreement in the same envelope when posting it back.
Antonio’s girlfriend, Sunita Bains, gave evidence that she handles the mail to their £2.2million Buckinghamshire mansion, and said she does not believe the initial police letter ever arrived.
The striker is also accused of failing to respond to West Midlands police over a speeding offence in the Lamborghini. He is set to stand trial on that charge next March.
Antonio’s footballing career was derailed in December 2024 when he crashed a Ferrari in Epping Forest in Essex, suffering a badly broken leg.
The star, a Jamaica international, spent three weeks in hospital and was out of the game recovering from his injuries for more than half a year.
Antonio, who has played for Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest, became West Ham’s top scorer in the Premier League during his 10 years at the club.
He left in summer 2025, joining Al Sailiya in Qatar where he made four appearances before signing for Watford on a free transfer earlier this month.
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