Mauricio Pochettino Labels Hugo Lloris 'Lucky' After Drink-Drive Incident

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has said Hugo Lloris was "lucky" there were no serious consequences from his drink-driving but was clear the Frenchman would remain as club captain. 

Lloris was found to be twice over the legal limit when he was stopped in London early on August 24, and he was fined £50,000 and banned from driving for 20 months earlier this week.

Per Neil McLeman in the Mirror, Pochettino believes his skipper will learn from his mistake:

"He already knew in the moment that it was a big mistake. Of course, anyone can make a mistake. He was 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.

"He pleaded guilty and that is it. As a man, you need to recognise your mistake. But he has the capacity to move on and to learn and be focused on playing football. I have no doubt about that. He apologised to everyone. The staff, the club, the fans, us, and he said that 'any decision that you take gaffer or the club I think is fair.'

"Of course he is the first to regret about everything. He made a mistake and he's suffered the punishment that the society [demands]. He has punished himself. We are not God, we can't judge people. Only we need to try [to ensure] that he understands that it was a mistake.

"He said, 'Gaffer, it's a massive lesson for me. I made a mistake and now I need to pay.' Like a man that he is, he is going to accept everything. Will he remain as captain? Of course."

Pochettino's decision to keep Lloris as captain has been criticised in some quarters. 

Daniel Storey of Football365 offered the view that "taking the armband away from Lloris would send a statement that Tottenham truly have taken Lloris' drink-driving seriously."

Lloris, 31, is also the France captain and helped lead Les Bleus to victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup earlier this summer.

France boss Didier Deschamps gave his backing to the former Lyon stopper before the recent international break, saying the incident was "not going to change what I think about him," per Richard Cooke of Sky Sports.

Lloris missed out on both France's UEFA Nations League clashes against Germany and the Netherlands due to injury, and he is set to be absent again when Spurs return to Premier League action against Liverpool on Saturday:

Michel Vorm will likely deputise against the Reds as Spurs aim to bounce back from their defeat to Watford last time out.