Preston North End’s Milutin Osmajić given driving ban for speeding eight times in eight weeks
Preston North End forward Milutin Osmajić has been banned from driving after he was caught speeding eight times in eight weeks.
The 25-year-old Montenegrin was repeatedly caught speeding in his Audi Q8 along the A6 in Preston between October and December 2023, reports Jamie Lopez for Blog Preston.
Preston magistrates heard Osmajić, who did not attend court, was involved in eight speeding incidents and also faced three charges for failing to identify the driver of the vehicle.
Osmajić joined North End in September 2023 for a club-record £2 million fee, and quickly began accumulating traffic violations.
Court documents reveal that notices of the offences were sent to his registered address, but went unanswered. When police eventually stopped him, Osmajić gave a different address, suggesting he had not received the original penalty notices.
An initial seven-month driving ban was imposed on the footballer in June 2024. However, further offences subsequently came to light, prompting a return to Preston Magistrates’ Court.
The most serious incident occurred at 2.30am on November 29, when Osmajić was clocked at 49mph in a 30mph zone—just hours after North Ende’s 4–0 defeat to Middlesbrough.
The offences, many occurring on or just after match days, were listed as follows:
25/10/23 – A6 London Road – 46mph in 30mph zone
28/10/23 – A6 London Road – 40mph in 30mph zone
06/11/23 – A59 Brockholes Brow – 50mph in 40mph zone
25/11/23 – A6 London Road – 40mph in 30mph zone
29/11/23 – A6 London Road – 49mph in 30mph zone
01/12/23 – A6 London Road – 44mph in 30mph zone
10/12/23 – A6 London Road – 37mph in 30mph zone
Defence solicitor Keith Jones argued that the previous seven-month ban should not influence any further punishment, since it had already addressed many of his client’s speeding offences.
He requested that the court consider a shorter discretionary ban instead of an automatic six-month “totting up” penalty, citing Osmajić’s need to drive for professional reasons.
Prosecutor Melissa Porter did not oppose the request and offered to drop the three failure-to-notify charges if Osmajić pleaded guilty to the speeding offences.
Seeking a ‘Goodyear indication’ —an indication of the likely sentence before entering a formal plea—Mr Jones told the bench: “I appreciate it looks like I’m saying do it this way or else,’ and in effect, I am—but I’m trying to avoid the need for a three-day trial.”
Ultimately, magistrates imposed a 28-day driving ban, to be served in addition to the previous seven-month suspension. Osmajić was also ordered to pay £7,390 in fines and court costs.