Sterling charged with dangerous driving after crash

What the report says

Raheem Sterling is due to appear in court next month after being charged with dangerous driving following a crash on the M3 in Hampshire, BBC Sport Football reports. The former England winger, now 31, is also facing a charge of possessing nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation and a further charge of failing to provide a specimen. According to the report, police say the case follows a single-vehicle collision involving a Lamborghini on 28 May near the Minley Interchange, when the car hit motorway barriers. No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported.

Sterling was arrested after the crash and later released on bail while enquiries continued. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said a driver will appear in court next month over the collision. Sterling, who is from Berkshire, is scheduled to appear at Basingstoke magistrates court on 15 September.

BBC Sport also notes that the force had previously suspected he may have been driving while unfit through drugs, but that allegation is not included in the charges announced. In May, a source close to Sterling told BBC Sport there was no proof of drugs in his system. Sterling has been without a club since leaving Feyenoord at the end of last season, after short spells with the Dutch side, Arsenal on loan and Chelsea earlier in his career. The case matters because it involves a high-profile footballer and will now proceed through the courts pending the hearing.