Free Rio Ferdinand--Five Star--The Biography by Wensley Clarkson

over the limit. He usually drinks Coke or lemonade. I don’t like alcohol and never have it in the house. We are not drinkers in this house and none of us realised that was possible. We are all so sad. Rio has such a solid head on his shoulders. He has been very strong and positive about keeping away from temptation. He’s really walked the straight line.’
    Not surprisingly, news of Rio’s arrest soon leaked out to the media. But the nation was in such a numbed state after the death of Princess Diana that it didn’t make the expected huge splash in the tabloids. That was Rio’s only piece of good fortune that week. But the modest projection of the story didn’t stop Fleet Street from asking the inevitable question: ‘Will Rio still play for England against Moldova?’
    With the death of the Princess on everyone’s mind, it was always going to be a tough task for England boss Glenn Hoddle to raise the spirits of his team for the World Cup clash with lowly Moldova. In the circumstances he had little choice but to drop Rio from the team. But he insisted Rio stay with the squad. Some suggested that Hoddle never intended to play Rio in the first place and was using the drink-driving arrest to ‘teach Rio a lesson’. Whatever the truth, Rio must have felt that his charmed world had just collapsed all around him.
    One of the reasons why Hoddle insisted Rio remain with the squad at Bisham Abbey was that ‘I wanted him to see what he was missing out on.’ He added: ‘This being hisfirst call-up it had all the more impact. We have had a long chat. He’s very disappointed with what he’s done. He feels he let himself, his club and his family down. He’s not out for good but if he goes and does something else in a month’s time, then there’s a problem. I don’t want to crucify him.’
    Hoddle’s sole aim was to provide England with a secure win at Wembley so that they would face Italy in Rome in a far better state of mind than following their earlier dismal 1–0 World Cup qualifiers defeat by Italy at home. Hoddle’s career as boss of the national team had begun a year earlier with a 3–0 win in Moldova. A win at home to Moldova would almost certainly mean a draw in Rome would be enough to secure automatic qualification as the second-placed qualifying team with the best record.
     
    Three days later – on 4 September – Rio appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates Court, where he pleaded guilty to drink-driving and was fined £500 and banned from driving for a year. During the five-minute hearing, prosecutor Anne Davies told the court: ‘Police stopped the car in Priory Road, Colliers Wood, at 1.30am on Monday, September 1 and found Mr Ferdinand driving. He denied he had had anything to drink that night but gave a breath test which was positive.’ Besides the ban and £500 fine, Rio was also ordered to pay £40 costs.
    Outside the court he told the waiting press that he thought his drinks might have been spiked with alcopops. He continued to insist that on the day before he was stopped by police he went out for dinner with friends and consumed just two halves of lager before changing to what he thought were soft drinks.
    At West Ham, managing director Peter Storrie alsoreiterated that Rio was not aware that he was over the limit when he was stopped. ‘Rio thinks the drinks could have been changed without his knowledge. He is full of remorse. But he will be back. He will learn from this.’
    The day after his conviction, Rio issued a statement to the media in which he promised to pick up the pieces of his shattered career and even admitted: ‘I’ve been so naive. I’m just so sorry. I am being forced to pay a heavy price. It’s a harsh lesson for me to learn, being so close to gaining my first full England cap. I made a mistake for which I am dreadfully sorry. I cannot apologise enough. This will show a test of my character. I have to prove to people who have stood by me that I can bounce back.’
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