French journo says Dan Carter is not looking well. Photo / Nick Reed
French journo says Dan Carter is not looking well. Photo / Nick Reed
All Blacks great Dan Carter was given a light $1700 fine on a French drink driving charge, according to documents his lawyer tried to keep out of the public eye.
French journalist Catherine Field told NewstalkZB's Mike Hosking that she had to make two applications to the court before the information was released.
Carter was pulled over by police for speeding in the centre of Paris in February and found to be almost twice the legal drink drive limit. He was given an initial five-month driving ban, before the state prosecutor handed the case to the court.
Field said: "This is first time we've got our hands on this document. We applied for them in November. The clerk of the court said we couldn't have them even under the freedom of information act because Mr Carter's lawyers asked for the hearing to be private.
"No public were allowed into the court room. I appealed that decision and today we received details of it.
"It seems Dan Carter got a €1000 fine [$1682], which to be honest is at the lower end of what the judge could have given. You generally expect a €4000 to €4500 fine.
"It's interesting that none of this has come out into the public domain. I had to apply twice even under the official freedom of information act to get this one document."
"He's not well, even if you talk to the man who owns the club...Dan Carter is 35 years old, has played rugby most of his life, his body is telling him it is time to take it easy," she said.
"He comes out on to the pitch to congratulate players. People shout and scream, the girls love him, but one gets the feeling that the team has moved on."
In October, Carter told Radio Sport's Martin Devlin he felt "sick" about what happened.
"I felt like I let a lot of people down and still feel pretty sick about it," he said.
"It was a really challenging time for me and my family, I felt like I let a lot of people down but people make mistakes in their life. The most important thing is that you learn from it.
"It's not about the punishment that the judge gives you or the fine or anything like that, it's actually the potential consequences that really hit home for you. It actually made me feel sick and it makes me feel sick now, thinking and talking about it.
"As much as I'd like to say I've moved on from it, it's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. I'm very fortunate that the consequences weren't a lot worse than they could have potentially been."
