Qld:Langer to return to work a day after drink-driving admission

AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-2010
Qld:Langer to return to work a day after drink-driving admission

By Kym Agius

BRISBANE, April 12 AAP - Drink-driver Allan Langer returns to work with the Broncos
on Tuesday, a day after sidestepping a conviction that threatened his coaching career.

Langer faced the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to drink
driving after a boozy session following the Broncos' heavy NRL loss to the Warriors last
month.

Magistrate Alan Taylor thanked Langer, 43, for his early guilty plea, saying it entitled
him to "some discount".

He fined the Broncos skills coach $1,000 and disqualified him from driving for eight months.

But he did not record a conviction against Langer, accepting it would have damaged
his coaching career, including Langer's ability to travel overseas.

The court was told Langer blew 0.156 - three times the legal limit - when pulled over
at Everton Park in Brisbane's north early on March 29.

Langer was on his way home to the Sunshine Coast after a drinking session at the Normanby
Hotel, where he notoriously danced on the bar in his underpants.

The court was told he drank eight to ten Fourex Gold beers and some vodka and Redbulls
before getting into his car. He had his last drink 45 minutes to an hour before being
pulled over.

Wearing a Broncos tie, Langer did not stop to talk to waiting media after the hearing
and was whisked away from the court in a car.

His lawyer Peter Shields made a statement, saying Langer's guilty plea was an apology
for his behaviour.

"He has apologised by pleading guilty," Mr Shields told reporters. "He's accepted he
did the wrong thing."

Langer met later with Broncos chief executive Bruno Cullen and coach Ivan Henjak who
said the former star player would return to work on Tuesday.

The club's board of directors believed Langer had served his penalty after being suspended
from his job on March 29.

Cullen said the club considered the matter dealt with, and Henjak said Langer's return
would buoy the team.

"The guys are all looking forward to having Alfie back," Henjak said.

In court, police prosecutor Sgt Robin Rochfort said Langer deserved to have a conviction
recorded against him.

But Mr Shields said a recorded conviction would be a blow to Langer's coaching career,
which involved travel to New Zealand and other overseas locations.

Langer's wife Janine, in an affidavit to support her husband, said: "He has an acute
sense of embarrassment and extreme remorse".

Mr Shields told the court Langer had already suffered significant punishment, in the
form of intense media attention, his suspension as a Broncos skills coach, and the loss
of his role as a promotional ambassador for Fourex brewer Lion Nathan.

The magistrate agreed with Langer's lawyer.

"There is enough of a basis ... that some future detriment would be likely if a conviction
were recorded," Mr Taylor said.

Griffith University's Sports College manager Michael Jeh, who mentors young athletes
including young Broncos players, said Langer's behaviour was unacceptable.

"I hope the young athletes realise this is a stupid decision made by one person and
while he's a hero as a footballer, he may not be an exemplar in every part of life," he
said.

AAP ka/tnf/pc/de

KEYWORD: LANGER WRAP (WITH PIX)

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