Former Premier League manager and TV pundit Alan Pardew has been banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding multiple times in his £80,000 Porsche Macan.
The 64-year-old pleaded guilty to the offences but had hoped to keep his licence to care for his elderly mother.
The Speeding Offences
Pardew’s latest brush with the law came on 21 February 2025, when he was caught by an automatic speed camera driving 26mph in a 20mph zone on The Avenue, A205, in Clapham, south London.
This offence added to previous speeding violations, taking his total penalty points to 12 — enough to trigger a driving ban.
He admitted the offences and issued a warning to other drivers:
“Three of my speeding offences were for going over a 20mph limit, so maybe it’s a warning to everyone not to lose concentration in those 20mph zones, as it’s so easy to do.”
Appeal to Keep Licence on Compassionate Grounds
Pardew asked the court to avoid a ban so he could continue caring for his 93-year-old mother, who lives alone in Selsey, near Chichester.
He explained that he drives her to medical appointments and to visit family in London a couple of times a week.
“She doesn’t want to live with myself or my sister, she wants to be at home.
She’s quite emotional, we lost my brother this year as well, she’s not in a great mental space. I would worry.”
Despite his plea, Bexley Magistrates Court ruled that his circumstances did not meet the threshold for “exceptional hardship” to prevent the ban.
Fines and Legal Costs
In addition to the six-month ban, Pardew was ordered to pay £1,034.
Magistrate Sonia Case acknowledged sympathy for his mother’s situation but stated that the hardship did not qualify as exceptional.
Representing Pardew, solicitor Anne-Marie Critchley highlighted the difficulties his mother would face without his support:
“She would be isolated and unable to see the family. She would also find it difficult to shop and attend appointments.”
A Career Marked by Success and Controversy
Pardew’s career in football spans decades, both as a player and a manager.
As a midfielder in the 1980s and 1990s, he played for clubs including Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic, and Barnet, famously scoring the winning goal in the 1990 FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool.
Transitioning into management, Pardew took charge of teams like Reading, West Ham United, Charlton, Southampton, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, and West Bromwich Albion.
He led West Ham to the 2006 FA Cup Final and Newcastle to a fifth-place Premier League finish in 2012, though his career has not been without controversy.
Notably, he received a seven-game ban and £160,000 fines in 2014 for head-butting Hull’s David Meyler while managing Newcastle — an incident he later described as “heat of the moment” that he regretted.
He also had stints abroad with ADO Den Haag in the Netherlands and CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria, experiencing mixed results.
Speeding Offences in the Spotlight
Pardew’s driving ban comes amid a series of high-profile cases.
Last week, broadcaster Kirsty Gallacher was banned for six months after collecting 12 penalty points.
She argued a ban would cause exceptional hardship due to health issues and caring responsibilities for her teenage sons.
A Reminder for Drivers
Pardew himself acknowledged the lessons from his case, urging caution in lower-speed zones:
“Maybe it’s a warning to everyone not to lose concentration in those 20mph zones, as it’s so easy to do.”
While the former Crystal Palace manager now faces a temporary halt behind the wheel, his football legacy — a mix of triumphs and controversy — remains intact
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