Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri issued an apology in court after he was caught speeding at 96mph.

The Foxes boss, 64, admitted breaking the 70mph limit on a dual carriageway in his Mercedes.

The offence happened during an international break and was not connected to any Premier League game.

Ranieri did not appear before magistrates in person and the case was heard in his absence with the help of a letter from his lawyers.

The letter from Ranieri's legal team read: "He apologises and has no excuse for speeding .

"He has been driving since the age of 19 and in all his years of driving across Europe he doesn't recall any points on his license.

"He's a football manager and drives over 10,000 miles a year both for work and personal reasons.

"He drives regularly to see matches both to assess possible talent and watch other teams."

Magistrate the Rev Michael Matthews ordered Ranieri to pay fines totaling £855 and imposed five points on his license.

He said: "We have taken into account his guilty plea and his circumstances."

Ranieri was caught speeding on a 70mph stretch of the A14 in Cambridgeshire at 3pm on October 13 last year.

The Italian's case was heard at Peterborough Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Ranieri's monthly wages were not revealed in the legal letter so a clerk helped magistrates decide the size of the fine to be issued.

She told the court: "He is a football manager so it's fair to expect he earns more than £440 a week."