Copa America

Arturo Vidal avoids jail, banned from driving

By Liam Apicella, Features Editor | 17 June 2015

Juventus and Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal escapes jail, but is banned from driving after crashing his car while under the influence of alcohol.

Arturo Vidal has escaped a jail sentence following his car crash while under the influence of alcohol in Chile last night.

The 28-year-old, who is a part of La Roja squad that is competing at the ongoing Copa America, was driving back from a casino near Santiago when he is believed to have lost control of his Ferrari, which struck another vehicle.

Neither he nor his wife were hurt in the incident, but during a court appearance this afternoon following his arrest, it was confirmed that the Juventus midfielder had 1.2g of alcohol per litre of blood in his system.

Under Chilean law, that blood alcohol level can carry a prison term of 12 months up to 10 years.

However, it is believed that due to the fact that nobody was seriously hurt, Vidal escaped that punishment, although he has had his driving licence revoked. He must also sign on monthly at Milan's Chilean embassy under the terms of his release.

Chile's next game is against Bolivia on Friday, but there have been suggestions that Vidal will now be dropped from the squad by head coach Jorge Sampaoli.