© photo Marc Van Hecke
Former Red Devil Vital Borkelmans (61) appeared in court at the Bruges police court on Wednesday morning for driving under the influence of alcohol. The former footballer and current football coach was caught in Knokke at the end of last year. Remarkably, the man got out of his car himself and immediately admitted to the officers that he had drunk too much.
Once he was a Red Devil, now he trains the youth players of FC Knokke. And it was in the city of his youth team that the sixty-year-old was caught during a police check in November 2023. “My client got out of the vehicle himself and before he underwent the breath test and also admitted to having drunk too much,” said lawyer Walter Van Steenbrugge.
The officers gave the former footballer a handwriting test. “He passed it,” the lawyer said. Borkelmans took the opportunity to apologize. “He wrote: sorry for what i did, i take full responsibility.” After testing, Borkelmans appeared to have 1.20 per mille alcohol in his blood.
Pronunciation
It is the first time that Borkelmans has to answer for alcohol use in traffic. “He has made sure his whole life, given his position, to drink as little alcohol as possible. In that respect, he has already had a good run”, said Borkelmans’ lawyer.
After the check, Borkelmans had to immediately surrender his driver’s license for fifteen days. His lawyer therefore requested that no additional driving ban be imposed.
The Bruges police judge decided to give Borkelmans a fine of 1,600 euros, of which 600 euros effective. In addition, the man was given a fifteen-day driving ban, but he has already served that.
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