Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has revealed Hugo Lloris would have accepted being stripped of the captaincy following his drink-driving conviction.
The Frenchman, who currently has a thigh injury, was sentenced this week for the August offence, with a judge fining him £50,000 and banning him from driving for 20 months.
Pochettino supported his goalkeeper in the wake of his arrest, handing him the armband for the game at Manchester United, and has done so again, even though the full details of Lloris’ crime were laid bare in court on Wednesday.
Lloris was found to be twice the legal limit, had a passenger in the car and was veering towards parked vehicles when he was stopped by police.
He is thought to have received a hefty club fine, though Pochettino would not confirm it, but the Spurs boss is sticking with him as captain.
Pochettino, whose side face Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday, said: “He apologised to everyone. The staff, the club, the fans, us, and he said, ‘Any decision that you take gaffer or the club I think is fair’.
“Of course we have a conversation and he explained what happened. I don’t want to say more as I don’t want to say anything more that will help no-one.
“He pleaded guilty and that is it. Like a man you need to recognise your mistake.”
The 31-year-old, who has been ruled out for several weeks with his injury, was regarded as one of the better professionals at Spurs prior to this incident and he quickly accepted responsibility soon after.
And Pochettino does not think it will affect him when he regains his fitness.
“I don’t believe that. Of course it is a thing, he is a man and he is very conscious about what happened and of course you cannot remove,” he added.
“But he has the capacity to move on and to learn and be focused on playing football. I have no doubt about that.
“He already knew in the moment that it was a big mistake. Of course all the women, men, people can make a mistake.
“Of course, lucky there was no consequence. That is important.
“And of course now it is a massive lesson for him, a life lesson. Because he is clever he’ll learn and now he is going to move on.”